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YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  • VOLUME  V-3 


A HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 
IN  CUNEIFORM 

AND  OTHER  EPIC  FRAGMENTS  IN 
THE  PIERPONT  MORGAN  LIBRARY 


BY 

ALBERT  T.  CLAY 


NEW  HAVEN 

YALE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

LONDON  • HUMPHREY  MILFORD  • OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

MDCCCCXXII 


Copyright  1922,  by 
Yale  University  Press 


First  published,  June,  1922 
Second  printing,  July,  1922 


To  my  Colleague  and  Friend 
PROFESSOR  CHARLES  CUTLER  TORREY 


FOREWORD 


The  title  of  this  little  monograph  tells  its  own  story,  namely, 
that  an  ancient  Hebrew  deluge  tradition  written  in  cuneiform  is 
here  presented.  It  is  not  a recent  discovery,  nor  is  it  the  first  time 
that  it  has  appeared  in  print.  It  was  first  published  a number  of 
years  ago,  but  owing  to  a faulty  copy  of  the  text  originally  pre- 
sented, its  importance  has  never  been  understood. 

This  story  of  the  deluge  which  had  found  its  way  into  Babylonia, 
where  it  was  made  to  conform  largely  to  the  Akkadian  dialect, 
fully  betrays  its  origin ; it  came  from  the  same  source  whence  the 
Hebrew  traditions  came,  namely  from  the  people  who  lived  in 
Amurru  (Syria  and  Mesopotamia),  called  the  Amorites.  As  was 
the  case  in  pre-Mosaic  days,  and  to  a large  extent  in  early 
Israel,  when  henotheism  prevailed,  “God”  is  the  foremost  deity. 
We  learn  from  this  tradition,  and  also  from  its  redaction  written 
centuries  later,  that  a long  famine  preceded  the  deluge,  which  is 
not  referred  to  in  the  Old  Testament,  that  the  famine  had  been  sent 
because  men  had  multiplied,  and  also  because  of  their  clamor, 
reminding  us  of  the  causes  given  for  the  deluge  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

The  great  importance  of  this  inscription,  which  was  copied 
about  the  time  of  Abraham  from  an  older  tablet,  together  with 
other  facts  here  presented,  is  that  it  will  require  that  the  prevail- 
ing view  be  abandoned  that  the  Hebrew  traditions  were  borrowed 
from  Babylonia.  This  involves  many  scholarly  works  written  in 
recent  decades  upon  the  early  history  of  Israel.  It  has  been 
generally  held  that  these  stories  are  of  Babylonian  origin;  that 
Canaan  was  a domain  of  Babylonian  culture  in  the  time  of  Moses ; 
and  that  Israel  had  assimilated  this  foreign  culture  as  well  as  its 
religion,  “feathers  and  all.”  Not  only  is  the  Israelitish  cult  held 
to  be  dependent  upon  the  Babylonian,  but  also  many  of  the  chief 
characters  are  said  to  have  descended  from  Babylonian  mythology. 
In  Germany  where  these  views  developed,  some  scholars  have 
gone  to  great  extremes ; only  a change  of  names  had  taken  place, 
and  Marduk  or  Bel  was  transformed  into  Christ.  In  America 
a more  moderate  position  has  generally  been  accepted,  in  which 


6 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  ■ RESEARCHES  V-3 


the  extreme  views  were  toned  down,  and  the  Pan-Babylonian 
theory  made  more  palatable.  Nevertheless,  it  is  generally  held 
that  these  traditions  had  been  brought  from  Babylonia  in  the  time 
of  Abraham,  or  in  the  Amarna  Period,  or  at  the  time  of  the  exile ; 
and  that  many  of  the  characters  had  their  origin  in  myth. 

Twelve  years  ago  the  writer  took  issue  with  this  general  posi- 
tion, holding  that  the  traditions  of  the  Hebrews  were  indigenous 
in  the  land  of  the  Amorites ; and  that  contrary  to  the  prevailing 
view,  this  land  was  not  dependent  for  its  population  upon  Arabs 
who  migrated  from  Arabia  a little  before  and  after  the  time  of 
Abraham,  but  upon  an  indigenous  people,  the  antiquity  of  whose 
culture  is  as  high  as  that  known  in  Egypt  or  Babylonia ; and  also 
that  the  Semites  who  moved  into  the  lower  Euphrates  valley 
mainly  came  from  this  quarter,  and  brought  with  them  their 
culture.  He  lias  also  consistently  maintained  that  such  familiar 
Biblical  characters  as  the  patriarchs  and  others,  instead  of  being 
the  creations  of  fiction  writers,  were  historical  personages. 

While  the  new  point  of  view  was  accepted  by  many  scholars, 
and  the  tremendous  flow  of  Pan-Babylonian  literature  was 
suddenly  and  very  materially  reduced  in  volume,  only  a few  of 
those  who  had  written  upon  the  subject  acknowledged  the  gains 
that  had  been  made,  and  reversed  their  positions.  Even  some 
scholars  in  their  efforts  to  nullify  the  advances,  instead  of  facing 
the  real  issue  in  their  reviews,  dwelt  upon  and  held  up  as  proof 
of  the  writer’s  thesis  some  extraneous  suggestions  which  had  been 
intended  for  consideration  in  filling  in  the  background  of  the  two 
or  more  millenniums  of  Amorite  history  prior  to  Abraham. 

The  writer’s  thesis  in  brief  is,  that  the  Arabian  origin  of  the 
Semites  living  in  ancient  Syria  and  Babylonia,  including  the 
Hebrews,  is  baseless ; but  that  the  antiquity  of  the  Amorite  civili- 
zation is  very  great ; and  also  the  assertion  that  the  culture  and 
religion  of  Israel  were  borrowed  from  Babylonia  is  without  any 
foundation ; for  they  were  indigenous ; and  that  the  Semites  who 
migrated  to  Babylonia  with  their  culture  were  mainly  from 
Amurru.  In  the  judgment  of  the  writer  the  material  presented 
in  this  little  monograph,  as  well  as  in  his  recently  published  Empire 
of  the  Amorites,  will  require  a very  extensive  readjustment  of 


FOREWORD 


7 


many  views  bearing  upon  the  subject,  as  well  as  the  abandonment 
of  many  others.  Moreover,  it  also  has  bearings  of  a far-reaching 
character  on  many  other  Old  Testament  problems. 

Amurru,  called  “the  land  of  the  Amorites,”  it  might  be  added, 
is  a geographical  term  which  was  used  in  ancient  times  for  the 
great  stretch  of  territory  between  Babylonia  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean. By  reason  of  its  products  and  its  position  this  land  had 
been  attractive  to  other  peoples  ever  since  one  strove  to  obtain 
what  the  other  possessed,  resulting  in  almost  innumerable  invasions 
and  conflicts  taking  place  in  this  land.  Within  the  historical  period 
we  know  that  the  Babylonians,  Egyptians,  Hittites,  Assyrians, 
Persians,  Greeks,  Romans,  Arabs,  Turks,  and  other  peoples  con- 
trolled this  territory.  It  should  be  added  that  this  country  in  turn 
also  prevailed  at  times  over  other  lands,  notably  Babylonia  and 
Egypt.  In  these  pages  we  have  evidence  that  one  of  its  rulers 
conquered  Babylonia  as  early  as  4000  B.C. 

This  country  has  always  represented  ethnologically  a great 
mixture.  Linguistically,  as  far  as  is  known,  a Semitic  language 
has  always  prevailed  in  this  great  stretch  of  territory.  The 
Amorite  or  Hebrew  language,  being  the  oldest  of  which  we  have 
knowledge,  was  followed  by  the  Aramaic,  and  later  by  the  Arabic 
which  now  prevails.  To  what  extent  the  Akkadian  dialect  was 
used  in  certain  parts,  and  what  script  was  employed  in  the  early 
period,  are  as  yet  undetermined.  Excavations  at  one  or  two  well 
selected  sites  will  throw  light  on  this  and  many  other  questions, 
and  furnish  us  with  the  material  whereby  we  will  be  able  to  recon- 
struct many  chapters  of  its  early  history. 

It  gives  the  writer  great  pleasure  to  inscribe  this  little  contribu- 
tion to  his  colleague  and  friend,  Professor  Charles  Cutler  Torrey, 
who  not  only  has  watched  sympathetically  these  investigations 
advance,  but  also  in  reading  the  manuscript  has  made  a number  of 
suggestions  as  well  as  several  identifications  of  roots  which  are 
indicated  in  the  foot  notes. 

Albert  T.  Clay. 

New  Haven,  Conn., 

May  19,  1922. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

I  An  Ancient  Hebrew  Deluge  Story 11 

II  An  Ancient  Fragment  of  the  Etana  Legend 33 

III  A Fragment  of  the  Adapa  Legend 39 

IV  An  Early  Chapter  in  the  History  of  Amurru  and 

Babylonia 42 

APPENDIX 

Transliterations  and  Translations  of  the  Deluge  Stories 

A An  Early  Version  of  the  Atra-hasis  Epic 58 

B A Late  Redaction  of  the  Atra-hasis  Epic 61 

C An  Assyrian  Fragment  of  the  Atra-hasis  Epic 68 

D A Deluge  Story  in  Sumerian 69 

E The  Deluge  Story  in  the  Gilgamesh  Epic 72 

F A Fragment  of  a Deluge  Story  in  Babylonian 81 

G Berossus’  Version  of  the  Atra-hasis  Epic 82 

Dynastic  Lists  of  Early  Babylonia 84 

Autographed  Texts .Plates  I-IV 

Heliotype  Reproductions “ V-VII 


I 


AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 

This  fragment  of  a large  tablet  was  published  in  text,  translitera- 
tion and  translation  nearly  twenty-five  years  ago,  before  it  bad 
come  into  the  possession  of  the  Pierpont  Morgan  Library  Collec- 
tion of  Babylonian  Inscriptions;  in  the  meantime  many  other 
translations  have  appeared.1  Moreover,  owing  to  the  form  in 
which  the  tablet  had  been  presented,  due  somewhat  to  its  not  having 
been  thoroughly  cleaned,  its  importance  has  only  been  slightly 
appreciated.  While  it  was  understood  that  it  had  the  same  general 
application  as  a legend  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  known 
as  the  Ea  and  Atra-hasis  legend,  and  belonging  to  a later  period, 
the  latter,  owing  to  its  fragmentary  condition,  could  not  be  said 
to  refer  to  the  deluge.  Moreover,  while  it  was  apparent  that  the 
present  text  did  refer  to  the  deluge,  it  was  considered  even  by  one 
who  examined  the  tablet  that  it  “contained  little  more  than  a few 
phrases  and  words,  without  any  coherent  connection.”2  Further 
study,  however,  as  will  be  seen  from  what  follows,  reveals  the  fact 
that  this  is  a mistake ; that  it  is  a part  of  an  old  version  of  what 
should  properly  be  called  the  Atra-hasis  Epic,  which  is  a very 
ancient  Hebrew  or  Amorite  Deluge  Story;  and  that  the  so-called 
Ea  and  Atra-hasis  Legend  of  the  Assyrian  period,  which  has  also 
been  translated  by  a number  of  scholars,3  is  a late  redaction  of  it. 
The  later  version  or  redaction  was  put  into  a magical  setting  for 
incantation  purposes.  In  the  Appendix  will  he  found  the  trans- 
literation and  translation  of  all  the  versions  of  this  deluge  story  or 
stories,  both  cuneiform  and  Greek.  The  ancient  dated  text  is 
designated  as  A,  and  the  late  redaction  as  B. 

1 Scheil  Recueil  de  Travaux  20  (1898)  55  ff;  Jensen  KB  VI  1 288  ff;  Dhorme  Clioix 
de  Textes  Religieux  Assyro-Babyloniens  120  ff;  Ungnad  Altorientalische  Texte  und 
Bilder  I,  57  f;  Rogers  Cuneiform  Parallels  104  ff;  etc. 

2 Hilprecht  BE  Ser.  D,  V 1 p.  44. 

3 CT  15,  49.  Translated  by  Zimmern  ZA  14,  277  ff;  Jensen  KB  VI  1 274  ff ; Dhorme 
Ibidem  128  ff;  Ungnad  ATB  I 61  ff;  Rogers  Cuneiform  Parallels  113  If  and  others. 


12 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


A small  fragment  in  the  British  Museum,  ostensibly  from  a ver- 
sion of  the  Atra-liasis  Epic,  for  it  mentions  the  hero’s  name,  which 
was  also  written  in  the  late  period,  furnishes  us  with  the  conversa- 
tion between  the  god  Ea  and  Atra-hasis  concerning  the  construction 
of  the  ship,  and  with  what  it  should  be  loaded.4  This  is  designated 
in  the  Appendix  as  C. 

A few  years  ago  there  was  published  a brief  epitomized  history 
of  the  world,  written  in  Sumerian,  beginning  with  the  creation, 
followed  by  an  account  of  the  building  of  cities  and  the  story  of  the 
deluge.  This  tablet  was  found  during  the  excavations  at  Nippur 
conducted  by  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  The  tablet  was 
written  after  the  Sumerian  language  had  ceased  to  be  spoken  in  its 
purity,  some  time  between  the  middle  of  the  First  Dynasty  of  Baby- 
lon and  the  second  Nisin  era,  that  is  between  2300  and  1300  B.  C.5 
Like  the  other  legend  written  in  the  late  period,  it  seems  to  have 
been  used  for  incantation  purposes.  It  is  evidently  based  upon 
the  same  story  as  that  from  which  the  Gilgamesh  Epic  story  has 
descended,  as  is  apparent  from  several  expressions  found  in  it. 
The  phrase  in  the  Sumerian  version  “when  for  seven  days  and 
nights  the  flood  overwhelms  the  land”  (D,  V:  3,  4)  is  paralleled 
in  the  Semitic  by  ‘ ‘ six  days  and  nights  the  wind  drives ; the  deluge- 
tempest  overwhelms  the  land,  when  the  seventh  day  arrives, 
the  tempest  subsides  in  the  onslaught”  (E,  128-130).  The  refer- 
ence also  to  “the  wall,”  when  the  hero  was  apprised  of  the  impend- 
ing deluge,  is  in  both.  Further,  the  title  of  the  hero,  Um-napishtim, 
is  replaced  in  the  Sumerian  by  Zi-u-suddu,  which  is  composed  of 
three  elements,  Zi  ( napishtim ) “life,”  and  u (um)  “day,”  to 
which  the  element  suddu  ( requ ) “to  be  distant”  has  been  added. 
It  is  not  impossible  that  Um-napishtim,  which  contains  two  of  the 
three  elements  of  the  Sumerian  name,  is  an  abbreviated  form  of 
the  original  (see  below).  This  version  is  designated  as  D. 

The  hero  of  the  other  and  well  known  deluge  story,  which  in  the 
late  period  had  been  woven  into  the  Gilgamesh  Epic,  is  Atra-hasis, 

4 Delitzseh  Assyr.  Les .3  p.  101;  KB  VI  1 254  ff;  etc. 

5 See  Poebel  Historical  and  Grammatical  Texts  No.  1;  and  Historical  Texts  14  ff; 
and  66  ff. 


I AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 


13 


but  his  title,  which  is  better  known  in  connection  with  the  story,  is 
Um-napishtim,  or  Uta-napishtim.6  This  is  designated  as  E. 

Besides  these  versions  or  fragments  of  versions  there  is  also 
known  a little  fragment  of  thirteen  partially  preserved  lines,  writ- 
ten probably  in  the  Cassite  period  (about  1400  B.C.),  in  which 
neither  the  name  of  a god  nor  that  of  the  hero  is  preserved.7  This 
is  designated  as  F. 

The  deluge  story  handed  down  by  Berossus,  in  which  the  hero  is 
Xisuthros  (Siowfyos),  which  name  represents  a transposition  of  the 
elements  of  Atra-hasis,  i.  e.,  Hasis-atra,  is  still  another  version  of 
the  epic.8  This  is  designated  as  Gr. 

The  only  dated  version  written  in  cuneiform  is  the  one  in  the 
Pierpont  Morgan  Collection.  It  was  copied  from  a still  earlier 
inscription  by  a junior  scribe  named  Azag-Aya,  on  the  28th  day 
of  Shebet,  in  the  11th  year  of  Ammi-zaduga  (1966  B.C.),  which 
date  is  about  1300  years  earlier  than  the  time  of  the  Library  of 
Ashurbanipal  (668-626  B.C.),  to  which  the  late  redaction  of  it,  now 
in  the  British  Museum,  belonged.  The  original  from  which  the 
scribe  copied  had  already  been  injured  in  the  12th  line,  which  is 
indicated  by  the  word  hibis  “broken.”  How  much  earlier  the 
previous  text  was  written,  cannot  be  surmised;  but  there  are 
reasons  for  believing  it  is  a very  ancient  legend,  probably  written 
two  thousand  years  earlier  (see  below). 

Unfortunately,  the  tablet  has  been  injured  since  it  was  first 
published  twenty-five  years  ago.  Several  small  pieces  have  been 
lost  from  the  surface  of  it.  In  the  copy  of  the  inscription,  given 
in  the  Appendix,  these  parts  are  based  upon  the  original  copy  made 
twenty-five  years  ago,  and  are  indicated  by  small  ink  dots,  easily 
recognized. 


8 See  Haupt  Nimrod-Epos  134  ff ; Delitzsch  Ass.  Les.3  99  ff ; KB  VI  1 228  ff ; Dhorme 
Textes  Beligieux  Assyro-Babyloniens  100  ff ; Ungnad  ATB  I,  50  ff.  Rogers  Cuneiform 
Parallels  90  ff- 

1 Hilprecht  BE  Ser.  D V 1 p.  48.  This  fragment,  if  it  actually  came  from  Nippur, 
belongs  to  the  Cassite  period.  This  conclusion  is  based  on  a palaeographical  and  linguis- 
tic study  of  texts  found  at  Nippur  belonging  to  the  Hammurabi  and  the  Cassite  periods. 
If  the  text  came  from  Sippar,  which  is  more  likely,  or  from  some  other  Semitic  city,  then 
it  is  possible  that  it  was  written  at  a somewhat  earlier  time. 

8 See  Zimmern  KAT3  543  f. 


14 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


The  fragment  shows  that  the  tablet,  of  which  it  was  a part, 
had  eight  columns.  This  can  be  determined  from  the  shape  of  the 
fragment,  the  second  column  of  which,  not  being  complete,  does  not 
reach  the  thickest  part  of  the  tablet,  i.e.,  the  middle.  It  can  also 
be  determined  that  it  had  eight  columns  from  the  number  of  lines.9 
Deducting  those  of  the  last  column,  namely  37,  from  the  total 
number  of  the  tablet,  which  is  439,  leaves  402 ; which  divided  into 
the  remaining  seven  columns,  gives  57  or  58  for  each.  This  can  be 
verified  by  adding  37  to  the  nearly  20  preserved  in  the  seventh 
column,  which  equals  57. 

This  fragment  of  the  ancient  version  contains  the  opening  lines 
of  what  was  the  second  tablet  of  the  series,  which  was  entitled  or 
known  by  the  words  I-nu-ma  i-lu  a-we-lum.  This  is  an  incomplete 
sentence  meaning  “When  God,  man,”  etc.10  It  recalls  the  well 
known  title  Enuma  Anu  Enlil  “When  Anu,  Enid,”  the  complete 
form  of  which  is  known:  “When  Anu,  Enlil,  and  Ea,  the  great 
gods,  entrusted  the  great  laws  of  heaven,”  etc.  Inuma  ilu  aivelum 
were  doubtless  the  initial  words  of  the  first  tablet  of  the  series. 

What  the  content  of  the  first  tablet  was  cannot  be  surmised. 
Like  the  Sumerian  text  found  at  Nippur,  and  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis,  it  may  have  contained  an  account  of  the  creation.  This 
second  tablet  of  the  ancient  version  opens  with  a reference  to  the 
famine,  as  in  the  late  redaction.  In  the  latter  we  learn  that  the 
famine  lasted  six,  probably  seven  years;  and  that  it  became  so 
severe  that  human  flesh  was  eaten.  The  Biblical  story  makes  no 
reference  to  a famine  preceding  the  deluge ; nor  does  the  Gilgamesh 
Epic  story;  yet  in  the  light  of  the  Atra-hasis  Epic  this  would  seem 
to  be  implied  in  the  Gilgamesh  story  in  the  message  which  Ea  tells 
Um-napishtim  to  give  to  the  people,  namely,  “it  will  rain  for 
you  abundance,”  after  the  ship  is  built. 

The  famine  in  the  ancient  Atra-ljasis  version  came  after  men 
began  to  multiply,  and  the  land  had  become  satiated  “like  a bull.” 
This  fact  is  hinted  at  in  the  late  redaction  where  we  have  the  line 
“ [The  people]  have  not  become  less ; they  are  more  numerous  than 
before”  (B,  III:  39).  It  was  ordered  that  the  fig  tree  be  cut  off, 

9 This  was  determined  when  the  tablet  was  originally  published;  see  Scheil  BT  20  55  ff. 

19  This  was  originally  incorrectly  read  i-nu-ma  sal-lu  a-we-lum  (see  below). 


I AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 


15 


that  Adad  withhold  the  rain ; that  the  rivers  be  restrained  at  their 
source ; that  the  fields  withhold  their  produce ; and  that  the  womb 
be  closed.  The  lines  of  the  seventh  column  refer  to  the  inter- 
vention of  the  god  Ea,  after  Adad  had  opened  the  heavens  and  sent 
a deluge.  The  promise  to  preserve  the  seed  of  life  is  also  referred 
to,  as  well  as  the  entering  into  the  ship. 

What  is  preserved  of  the  redactor’s  work  makes  no  reference 
to  the  flood.  Whether  the  redactor  included  in  his  work  also  the 
account  of  the  deluge,  the  main  theme  of  the  epic,  can  be  deter- 
mined only  when  other  parts  of  his  incantation  are  found.  The 
ancient  version,  however,  enables  us  to  ascertain  where  he  obtained 
his  account  of  the  famine,  which  he  used  for  incantation  purposes, 
in  connection  with  sickness  and  the  bearing  of  children.  The  story 
of  the  famine  involving  the  lack  of  fertility  lent  itself  to  such  a 
purpose.  That  he  modified,  enlarged,  and  glossed  it,  is  perfectly 
clear  from  the  transliteration  and  translation  of  the  two  texts, 
the  ancient  and  the  redaction. 

Complete  translations  of  all  the  cuneiform  deluge  stories  are 
given  in  the  Appendix;  but  in  order  to  have  the  related  parts  of 
the  two  texts  of  the  Atra-hasis  Epic  together  for  the  purpose  of 
comparison,  the  following  selections  are  here  given : A,  1 : 1 to  19 
of  the  former,  and  B,  III : 2 to  8 and  37  to  59  of  the  latter. 


Selection  from  the  Early  Version  Lines  1-19. 


1 [&]-(?) -bi-il  [n] -ig- [ ma-si-i ] n 
bal-ti-a (f) 

ma-tum  ir-ta-bi-is  ni-[su  im]  -ti-da 

[m]a-tum  ki-ma  li-i  i-sa-ab-bu 

[ i-na ] hu-bu-ri-si-na  i-lu  it-ta-ah- 
da-ar 

5 [......]  is-te-me  ri-gi-im-si-in 

[iz] -zarkar  a-na  ra-bu- 

tim 

iq-ta-db-ta  ri-gi-im  a-wi-lu-ti 
i-na  hu-bu-ri-si-na  iz-za-kar  ma-si- 
if-ta 


I will  bring  ( ? ) their  clamor  ( ? ) 


The  land  had  become  great;  the 
people  had  multiplied. 

The  land  like  a bull  had  become 
satiated. 

[In]  their  assemblage  God  was 
absent. 

......  heard  their  clamor. 

He  said  to  the  great  gods  ( ?) 

Those  observing  the  clamor  of  men. 

In  their  assemblage  he  spoke  of 
desolations. 


16 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  ■ RESEARCHES  V-3 


[lip-par]-sa  a-na  ni-si  te-i-na 

10  [i-na  sa-da]-ti-si-na  li-’-zu  sa-am- 
mu 

su  dAdad  li-sa-aq-ti-il 

hi-bi-is  -a  [ li ] -il-li-ka 

[ ia  is-sa-a  me-li  na]-aq-bi 

[ li-  ] -il-li-ik  sa-ru 
15  [ na]-ag-bi-ra  li-e-ir-ri 

[ur]  -bi-e-turn  li-im-ta-an-ni-ma 
[zu-un-nu  i-na  same]  (- e ) ia  it-tu- ' 
uk 

[li-su]-ur  eqlu  is-bi-ki-su 
[li-ni-’]  ir-ta  sa  dNisaba 


Let  the  fig  tree  for  the  people  be 
[cut  off]. 

[In]  their  [fields],  let  the  plant 
become  a weed  ( ? ) . 

the  sheep  let  Adad  destroy. 

[The  fountains  of  the  deep]  let 
not  flow. 

[That  the  flood  rise  not  at  the 
so]urce. 

Let  the  wind  blow. 

Let  it  drive  mightily. 

Let  the  clouds  be  held  back,  that 

[Rain  from  the  heav]ens  pour 
not  forth. 

Let  the  field  withhold  its  fertility. 

[Let  a change  come  over]  the 
bosom  of  Nisaba. 


Selections  from  the  Redaction  III  2-8,  and  37-59. 


[eli  rig  (ri-gi)  -me-si-na  it-ta- 
d[ir ] 

[izzakar  ina]  hu-bu-ri-si-na  la  i- 
sa-ba-ta  [ni-si-tu] 

[dEn-l]il  il-ta-kan  pu-hur-[su] 

5 [iz-za]  -k a- r a a-na  ildnimeS  maremei 
-su 

[ iq]-tab-ta-ma  [r]i-gi-im  a-me-lu- 
te 

[eli  r]ig{ri-g[i)]-me-[si-n]a  at- 
ta-a-{di-ir)dir 

[izzakar  ina]  hu-[bu]-ri-si-na  la 
i-sa-ba-ta  ni-si-tu 

[En-lil]  il-ta-kan  pu-hur-su: 
izakkara  a-na  ilanimci  niaremcS- 
su 

ra  me-e-ta  as-ku-na-si- 


[ Concerning]  their  clamor  he  be- 
came troubled. 

[He  spoke  in]  their  assemblage  to 
those  untouched  [by  the  deso- 
lations]. 

[Enlil)  held  [his]  assembly. 

[He  sa]  id  to  the  gods  his  children, 

Those  observing  the  clamor  of 
men : 

[Concerning]  their  clamor  I am 
troubled. 

[He  said  in]  their  assemblage  to 
those  untouched  by  the  desola- 
tions. 

[Enlil]  held  his  assembly;  he 
speaks  to  the  gods  his  children. 

I will  put  them  to  death. 


na-ti 


I AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 


17 


[■ nise ] la  im-im-ta-a  a-na  sa  pa-na 
i-ta-at-ra 

40  [eli]  rig-me-si-na  at-ta-a-dir 

[izzakar  ina ] hu-bu-ri-si-na  la  i- 
sa-ta  ni-si-tu 

[lip-par] -sa-ma  a-na  ni-se-e  ti-ta 

[i-n]  a kar-si-si-na  li-me-su  sam- 
■ mu 

[e]lis  dAdad  zu-un-na-su  lu-sa- 
qir 

45  [li-is]-sa-kir  sap-lis  ia  is-sa-a  me- 
lu  i-na  na-aq-bi 

[ l ] i-sur  eqlu  is-pi-ki-e-su 
[l]i-ni-’  irtu  sa  dNisaba  : musa- 
timeS  lip-m-u  ugaremeS 

seru  pal-ku-u  lu-li-id  id-ra-nu 
[li]-bal-kat  ki-ri-im-sa  : sam-mu 
ia  u-sa-a  su-u-  ia  i-’-ru 

50  [li]  s-sa-kin-ma  a-na  nisemeS  a-sa- 
ku 

[remu]  lu-ku-sur-ma  ia  u-se-sir 
sir-ra 

ip-[par-s]u  a-na  ni-se-e  ti-ta 
i-na  kar-si-si-na  e-me-su  sam-mu 

e-lis  dAdad  zu-un-na-su  u-sa-qir 

55  is-sa-kir  sap-lis  ul  is-sa-a  me-lu 
ina  na-aq-bi 

is-sur  eqlu  is-pi-ki-su 
i-ni->  irtu  sa  dNisaba:  musdtimei 
ip-su-u  ugaremei 


[The  people]  have  not  become 
less ; they  are  more  numerous 
than  before. 

[Concerning]  their  clamor  I am 
troubled. 

[He  said  in]  their  assemblage  to 
those  untouched  by  the  desola- 
tions : 

Let  the  fig  tree  for  the  people  be 
[cut  off.] 

[I] n their  bellies  let  the  plant  be 
wanting. 

Above,  let  Adad  make  his  rain 
scarce. 

Below  let  (the  fountain  of  the 
deep)  be  stopped  that  the  flood 
rise  not  at  the  source. 

Let  the  field  withhold  its  fertility. 

Let  a change  come  over  the  bosom 
of  Nisaba ; by  night  let  the  fields 
become  white. 

Let  the  wide  field  bear  weeds  ( ? ) . 

Let  her  bosom  revolt,  that  the 
plant  come  not  forth,  that  the 
sheep  become  not  pregnant. 

Let  calamity  be  placed  upon  the 
people. 

Let  the  [womb]  be  closed,  that  it 
bring  forth  no  infant. 

The  fig  tree  was  cut  [off]  for  the 
people. 

In  their  bellies,  the  plant  was  want- 
ing. 

Above,  Adad  made  scarce  his  rain. 

Below  (the  fountain  of  the  deep) 

was  stopped,  that  the  flood  rose 

not  at  the  source. 

The  field  withheld  its  fertility. 

A change  came  over  the  bosom  of 
Nisaba;  the  fields  by  night  be- 
came white. 


18 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


sent  pal-hu-u  u-li-id  id-ra-na: 


The  wide  field  bore  weeds  ( ?) ; her 
womb  revolted. 


ib-bal-kat  Jci-ri-im-sa 
sam-mu  ul  u-sa-a  su-u  id  i’-ru 


The  plant  came  not  forth;  the 
sheep  did  not  become  pregnant. 


The  critical  historical  study  of  the  late  redactor’s  work  is  com- 
paratively easy  in  this  instance,  because  we  have  an  original  from 
which  his  work  has  descended.  In  the  thirteen  hundred  years 
many  copyists  and  redactors  had  doubtless  taken  part  in  trans- 
mitting the  legend.  How  many  times  the  test  had  been  re-copied 
during  the  two  or  three  thousand  years  of  its  history  prior  to 
the  time  the  present  early  version  was  inscribed,  cannot  be  sur- 
mised. 

This  old  version  contains  absolutely  nothing  to  suggest  the  idea 
that  it  had  originally  been  written  in  Sumerian.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  clearly  evident  that  it  is  of  Amorite  origin.  Not  only  are 
the  hero  and  the  deities  Amorite,  but  also  certain  words,  which 
were  not  in  current  use  in  Akkadian. 

One  of  the  most  striking  Amorite  words  in  the  text  is  liuburu 
(line  4),  which  also  is  found  in  the  redaction.  This  has  been  left 
untranslated  in  all  the  translations  known  to  the  writer  except  one, 
where  the  meaning  “totalite”  is  given.  The  word  unquestionably 
is  West  Semitic,  and  means  “assemblage,  association.”11  It  is 
found  also  in  the  Creation  Story,  in  ummu  hubur  “mother  of  the 
assembly  (or  association)”12  of  gods,  the  title  of  Tiamat,  “the 
mother  of  them  all”  ( muaUidat  gimrisun ),  who  was  of  West  Semi- 
tic origin.13  The  redactor,  fearing  the  word  would  not  be  under- 
stood by  his  Assyrian  readers,  inserted  a line  which  follows  in  his 
transcription,  reading  “[En]-lil  established  his  assembly  ”;  in 
which  he  used  the  regular  Assyrian  word  for  “assembly”  ( puhru ). 

The  root  of  it-ta-ah-da-ar  (A,  4)  is  not  found  in  Akkadian,  but 
it  is  in  Hebrew,  in  ‘ cidar  “to  be  absent,  to  be  lacking;”  in  which 

11  See  notes  beneath  the  transliteration  in  the  Appendix. 

12  King  read  it  as  a name  ummu  fyubur ; see  Seven  Tablets  of  Creation,  p.  17.  Zimmern 
translated  bnbur  “Tiefe,  Totenreich”  KAT 3 642  f;  Jensen  translated  “Die  Mutter  des 
Nordens”  KB  VI  1,  p.  7,  and  suggested  other  possibilities,  as  “w/cearos,  Getose,  Siinde, 
Gesamtheit”  pp.  308  and  541;  Ungnad  “Mutter  Hubur”  ATB  I 9;  and  Ebeling  “Die 
Mutter  der  Tiefe”  Altorientalische  Texte  und  Untersuchungen  II  4,  p.  22. 

13  See  Clay  Amurru  the  Home  of  the  Northern  Semites  49  f. 


I AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 


19 


language  the  verbal  forms  occur  also  in  the  Niphal,  see  2 Sam., 
17 : 26,  Isaiah  40 : 26,  etc.  Apparently  the  redactor  did  not  under- 
stand the  word,  for  he  changed  the  sense,  and  wrote  in  his  para- 
phrase “Concerning  their  clamor  he  was  troubled”  ( ittadir ) (B, 

III:  2). 

The  word  iq-ta-ab-ta  (A.  7)  does  not  occur  in  Akkadian;  it 
is  Amorite.  In  Ethiopic  and  Aramaic,  ‘ aqab  means  “ to  observe, 
mark,”  etc.  It  is  found  in  Hebrew  with  the  meaning  “ to  follow 
at  the  heel.  ’ ’ 

The  word  ma-si-it-ta  “desolations”  (A,  8)  is  Hebrew;  see 
Job  30:  3;  Psalm  74:  3,  etc.  In  the  redaction,  the  word  used  is 
ni-si-tu.  This  also  is  Hebrew  (see  Psalm  88:  13). 

A very  striking  and  important  proof  that  the  original  story  was 
Amorite  or  Hebrew  is  to  be  seen  in  the  use  of  the  word  te-i-na 
(A,  9),  which  is  the  Hebrew  word  for  “fig  tree.”  This  the  early 
redactors  had  allowed  to  stand,  but  a later  scribe,  feeling  that 
this  would  not  be  understood  in  his  country  where  the  fig  was 
practically  unknown,  replaced  the  Hebrew  word  te-i-na  with  ti-ta, 
the  Babylonian  word  for  “fig  tree.”  In  Babylonian  and  Assyrian 
literature  the  word  titu  or  tittu  is  little  more  than  known.  In 
Hebrew  literature,  as  in  the  present  text,  the  word  “fig  tree”  is 
synonymous  with  “prosperity.”  It  was  not  in  Babylonia  nor  in 
Assyria  that  man  “dwelt  under”  and  ate  “every  one  of  his  fig 
tree,”  but  in  Syria  (see  Mic.  4:  4;  Is.  36:  16,  etc.). 

Owing  to  the  injury  of  the  tablet  it  is  not  possible  to  say  that  su 
(A,  11),  translated  “flock,”  is  not  the  pronominal  suffix,  but  the 
word  su  which  does  occur  in  the  redactor ’s  paraphrase,  is  another 
Hebrew  word  meaning  “flock,  sheep,”  which  is  frequently  found 
in  the  Old  Testament. 

In  li-sa-aq-ti-il  (A,  11)  is  to  be  seen  an  Amorite  word  which  had 
not  been  used  in  Akkadian.  Whether  the  redactor  understood  its 
meaning,  we  do  not  know;  but  he  changed  the  wording;  and  he 
also  condensed  the  six  lines  of  the  original  which  follow  (A,  12 
to  16)  into  one  line  (see  B,  II:  30  and  III:  45).  Not  only  do  we 
find  lisaqtil  instead  of  lusaqtil,  but  note  also  limtanni,  listarriq, 
lisaznin,  and  perhaps  also  lierri  and  imassid'.  This  probably  is 
a peculiarity  of  the  early  Amorite  language  in  which  the  legend 
had  been  written. 


20 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


In  line  12  the  word  hibis  indicates  that  a previous  tablet  had 
been  injured.  The  words  [i~\a  [li]-il-li-ka  “ let  not  flow  ” are 
preserved  at  the  end  of  the  line.  Probably  the  words  e-na-ta 
ta-ma-ta  “fountains  of  the  deep,”  as  in  Genesis  7 : 11,  stood  in  the 
original,  and  an  Akkadian  scribe  who  lived  in  Babylonia,  a land 
where  springs  are  unknown,  being  in  doubt  as  to  the  reading,  wrote 
hibis,  “injured.” 

The  root  of  li-e-ir-ri  (A,  15)  is  doubtless  to  be  found  in  Hebrew 
in  the  common  yardh  “ to  throw,  hurl.”  This  root  was  not  in 
current  use  in  Babylonia. 

The  root  of  li-im-ta-an-m-ma  (A,  16),  is  evidently  the  familiar 
Hebrew  mana1  “to  withhold,  to  hold  back,”  used  in  connection 
with  rain,  Amos  4:  7;  of  “showers,”  Jer.  3:  3,  etc.,  but  the  root 
was  not  in  current  use  in  Babylonia. 

If  we  had  no  other  data  to  show  that  Nisaba  (A,  19),  the  goddess 
of  fertility,  is  Amorite,  this  passage  would  be  sufficient;  but  we 
have.  Naturally  no  one  would  question  that  Adad  is  the  Amorite 
Hadad.  And  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  that  Ea  also  had  his  origin 
in  the  West.15 

These  words  are  all  found  in  the  first  nineteen  lines  of  the  text. 
Naturally  the  words  currently  used  in  Babylonia,  as  well  as  in 
Amurru,  are  not  discussed.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  hero,  Atra- 
hasis,  bears  an  Amorite  name.16  The  fact  that  the  determinative 


“Scholars  generally  agree  that  Adad  (dIM)  and  Nisaba  are  West  Semitic.  On  Ea  as 
an  Amorite  god,  see  Chiera  Lists  of  Personal  Names  p.  39  f. ; and  Clay  Empire  of  the 
Amorites  p.  175. 

16  This  name  is  generally  considered  to  be  two  words  meaning  “exceedingly  wise,”  “the 
very  wise  one.  ’ ’ While  the  Babylonians  used  it  as  synonymous  with  these  words,  it  was 
nevertheless  a personal  name,  and  this  does  not  seem  to  have  been  its  original  meaning. 
Names  compounded  with  Atar  and  Attar,  also  written  Atra,  Atram,  with  and  without  the 
determination,  are  numerous  among  West  Semitic  names,  cf.  Atar-hi’di  (- idri , -gabri, 
-suri,  -nuri,  -fjammu,  -qamu,  etc.),  see  Tallqvist  APN  252  and  NBN  231.  The  Baby- 
lonians in  making  use  of  these  West  Semitic  legends,  having  their  own  word  atru, 
meaning  “surplus,”  “abundant,”  made  an  etymological  play  upon  the  name,  as  was 
done  so  frequently  in  the  O.  T.,  interpreting  it  in  their  own  legends  as  being  synonymous 
with  ‘ ‘ very  wise,  ” as  is  done  in  the  Etana  and  Adapu  Epics.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in 
the  Adapa  fragment  discussed  below,  the  word  At-ra-Jja-si-sa  is  not  written  grammatically 
as  two  words  in  the  sentence,  but  is  looked  upon  as  a name,  synonymous  with  the  idea 
“clever  one.”  The  same  is  true  in  the  Etana  Legend  {KB  VI  1 106:  39),  where  A-tar- 
1}a-si-sa  is  in  apposition  with  ad-mu  si-ity-ru,  which  is  in  the  nominative  case. 


I AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 


21 


for  man  is  placed  before  it,  especially  in  this  early  period,  makes 
it  impossible  to  regard  it  here  as  being  an  epithet  for  a hero  bear- 
ing another  name. 

These  facts  and  others  which  follow,  especially  those  in  con- 
nection with  the  name  Ilu  “God”  for  the  chief  deity’s  name  in  this 
legend,  prove  conclusively  that  this  was  originally  a Hebrew  or 
Amorite  Deluge  Story. 

If  this  is  an  Amorite  legend  we  would  expect  to  find  also  in  the 
work  of  the  late  redactor  or  glossarist,  Amorite  words  which  had 
not  been  adopted  by  the  Semitic  Babylonians ; and  in  this  we  are 
not  disappointed.  A comparison  of  the  two  texts  shows  how  the 
redactor  inserted  glosses  or  parallel  phrases  in  connection  with 
huburisina,  iqtabta , etc.,  and  as  we  already  have  seen,  how  he 
replaced  the  Hebrew  teina  with  the  Babylonian  titu,  and  used  the 
Hebrew  word  su  1 ‘ flock.  ’ ’ The  following,  however,  will  show  that 
all  the  Hebrew  or  Amorite  words  had  not  been  eliminated  in  the 
thirteen  hundred  years  which  intervened  between  the  dates  when 
the  two  tablets  were  written. 

The  word  zi-ba-ni-it  “treasures”  (B,  1 : 33),  is  Amorite  from  the 
root  sapan  “to  hide,  to  treasure.”  This  root  is  not  in  current  use 
in  Akkadian. 

The  words  a-na  pat-te  (B,  I:  36)  do  not  mean  “aussitot,”  nor 
is  the  reading  a-na  kurmate  “for  food”  correct;  but  pat-te  is  the 
Hebrew  word  pat  in  the  plural,  meaning  “morsels;”  and  the 
sentence  reads  “they  prepare  the  child  for  morsels.”  This  being 
a word  foreign  to  the  Akkadians,  the  redactor  wrote  the  gloss 
which  precedes,  “They  prepare  the  daughter  for  a meal.” 

The  ma  at  the  beginning  of  B,  I:  43  ma-bel  mdti  has  been  left 
wholly  unaccounted  for  in  all  the  translations.  This  is  the  Hebrew 
waw  conjunctive. 

The  word  i-ri-ha-ma  (B.  11:50)  is  not  Akkadian  but  Amorite. 
The  word  ’aruhah  “meal,  food,”  is  found  several  times  in  the 
Old  Testament,  see  Jer.  40 : 5,  etc. 

The  word  la-su  (B,  II:  56)  has  been  construed  by  all  the 
translators  as  the  negative  particle,  three  of  whom,  recognizing 
the  difficulty,  added  a question  mark  to  their  conjectural  translation 
of  it;  but  la-su  is  the  Amorite  inseparable  preposition  with  the 


22 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  ■ RESEARCHES  V-3 


pronominal  suffix,  meaning  “to  him.”  The  redactor  glossed  la-su 
with  the  Akkadian  word  it-ti-su  which  precedes.14  In  the  passage 
which  is  exactly  parallel  (B,  III:  20),  it  is  omitted. 

The  word  i-sa-ba-ta  (B.  Ill:  3),  translated  as  if  Akkadian  from 
the  root  sabatu  “to  take,”  makes  an  insurmountable  difficulty; 
but  considering  that  it  is  from  the  Hebrew  root  ‘ asab  “to  grieve,” 
see  Isaiah  54:  6;  I Chron.  4: 10,  etc.,  the  difficulty  disappears.14 

The  word  ni-si-tu  “desolation”  (B,  111:3),  as  referred  to  above 
in  connection  with  ma-si-it-ta  of  the  ancient  version,  is  Amorite. 

The  me  which  follows  Atra-hasis  (B,  III:  29)  is  not  an  enclitic 
or  emphatic  particle  attached  to  that  name,  but  the  Hebrew  waw 
consecutive ,14  The  fact  that  me  is  written  instead  of  ma  may 
probably  be  due  to  compensative  lengthening  as  in  Hebrew. 

There  are  other  Amorite  words  in  the  late  text  which  are  dis- 
cussed in  the  foot  notes  of  the  transliteration  and  translation. 

The  study  of  the  late  redaction  also  shows  that  it  goes  back  to 
a Hebrew  or  Amorite  original.  In  no  other  way  can  the  Hebrew 
words  found  in  its  composition  be  explained. 

The  legend  had  been  Akkadianized  before  the  early  text  was 
written,  in  1966  B.  C.  In  the  long  period  which  preceded  it  had 
suffered  many  changes  when  redactors  had  made  the  original 
Amorite  text  conform  to  the  dialect  in  current  use  in  Babylonia; 
fortunately,  as  we  have  seen,  all  the  words  peculiar  to  the  West 
had  not  been  eliminated.  We  see  how  this  process  went  on  in  the 
writing  of  personal  names  of  those  coming  fresh  from  the  West 
in  the  Hammurabi  period;  for  example,  names  like  Ishbi-Urra, 
Ishme-Dagan  etc.,  had  become  Akkadianized,  but  on  the  arrival 
from  the  West  of  others  bearing  those  names,  we  find  that  they 
were  written  Yashbi-Urra , Yashme-Dagan , etc.  Even  the  position 
of  the  verbs  in  the  sentence  had  suffered  changes ; for  while  they 
are  frequently  found  at  the  beginning,  as  in  Hebrew,  they  are  also 
found  placed  at  the  end,  or  indifferently  in  the  sentence,  as  is  the 
case  in  Akkadian. 

The  story  of  the  deluge,  as  contained  in  the  Gilgamesh  Epic, 
certain  scholars  maintain,  embraces  elements  of  more  than  one 
tradition.  They  say  Um-napishtim  is  the  hero  of  the  epic,  yet  it 


14  See  notes  beneath  the  word  in  the  transliteration  in  the  Appendix. 


I AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY  23 

nevertheless  also  refers  to  Atra-hasis.  This  has  prompted  some 
scholars  to  identify  him  with  Um-napishtim,  while  others  consider 
that,  as  has  already  been  noted,  in  this  late  story  the  name  Atra- 
hasis  is  used  as  a synonym  for  “a  very  wise  man,”  as  is  the  case  in 
several  of  the  epics.  However,  it  seems  to  the  writer  that  the 
situation  is  entirely  misunderstood.  As  stated  above  (foot  note 
16)  Atra-hasis  is  a personal  name.  The  passage,  “the  wise  one, 
Atra-hasis”  (B,  III : 17),  could  hardly  be  translated  ‘ ‘ the  wise  one, 
the  very  wise ;”  and  it  doubtless  shows  also  where  the  later  etymol- 
ogists got  their  idea  for  their  play  upon  the  name.  In  all  the 
versions  except  the  Sumerian  the  hero’s  name  is  Atra-hasis. 
After  the  flood  he  was  given  a title.  Although  not  fully  under- 
stood it  is  Um (or  Uta)-napishtim  ruqim  (rig am,  also  ina  ruqi), 
which  in  the  Sumerian  paraphrase  is  written  Zi-u-suddu.  This 
title  has  been  variously  translated : ‘ ‘ He  who  lengthened  the  days 
of  life,”  “He  who  made  life  long  of  days,”  etc.  Certainly  this  is 
not  a personal  name,  which  fact  the  Gilgamesh  Story  fully  recog- 
nizes. When  Ea  (in  the  Gilgamesh  Story  E,  196)  tells  the  gods 
how  the  hero  learned  that  the  flood  would  occur,  he  does  not  say, 
“I  made  Um-napishtim  see  a dream;”  for  at  that  time  he  had  not 
been  thus  designated;  but  Ea  says  “I  made  Atra-hasis  see  a 
dream.  ’ ’ That  was  his  name ; he  had  not  yet  earned  the  title.  In 
short,  this  is  no  confusion  of  names,  as  some  have  inferred,  but 
an  exact  statement.  And  the  use  of  the  title  instead  of  the  name 
in  the  Sumerian  paraphrase  is  a proof  that  it  is  borrowed  from  the 
Semitic  legend. 

The  writer  has  previously  maintained,  simply  on  a basis  of  the 
personal  names  found  in  the  Gilgamesh  Epic  story,  that  it  is 
largely  from  a Hebrew  or  Amorite  original.  Let  us  inquire 
whether  a study  of  the  language  used  in  its  composition  will  betray 
its  original  source. 

The  first  Hebrew  word  to  be  noted  in  the  Gilgamesh  Epic  story 
is  nisirtu  “secret,”  (E,  9).  This  word,  as  far  as  known  to  the 
writer,  was  not  in  current  use  in  Akkadian ; but  the  Hebrew  word 
meaning  “hidden  thing”  from  this  root  is  known  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment (see  Isaiah  48:  6,  etc.). 

The  word  for  part  of  the  boat  called  la-an  (E,  60),  which  was 


24 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


the  “hull”  or  “bottom,”  is  Hebrew  from  the  root  lun  “to  lodge,” 
doubtless,  because  there  is  where  the  people  lodged. 

The  word  used  for  “the  roof”  of  the  boat,  namely  sa-a-si 
(E,  60),  is  Amorite  (see  note  in  Appendix). 

The  word  qiru,  used  for  the  outside  wall  of  the  ship  (E,  66),  is  not 
Akkadian,  but  it  is  the  common  word  for  “wall”  in  Hebrew. 

The  word  sussullu  “basket”  (E,  68)  was  not  used  in  Akkadian 
but  it  is  found  in  Hebrew,  see  Jer.  6 : 9. 

The  root  of  u-pa-az-zi-ru  (E,  70)  is  the  common  Hebrew  basar 
“to  gather,  gather  in,  enclose.” 

The  root  of  the  word  e-si-en-si  “I  loaded  it”  (E,  81)  is  found  in 
all  the  Semitic  languages  except  the  Akkadian  dialect.  In  Isaiah 
33:  20  we  have  reference  to  “a  tent  that  shall  not  be  moved,” 
i.  e.,  “loaded.” 

In  pi-hi-i  (E,  95)  is  to  be  seen  the  common  Hebrew  word  pehah 
“governor,”  which  was  not  in  current  use  in  Akkadian. 

The  word  ha-aia-al-ti  has  been  translated  “army”  (E,  131), 
but  this  is  Amorite ; it  is  not  found  in  Akkadian. 

Where  one  text  reads  u-mu  (E,  133)  the  variant  text  reads 
ta-ma-ta.  The  former  word  has  been  translated  “day,”  and  the 
latter  “sea.”  Certainly  umu  is  the  Hebrew  yarn  “sea,”  as  the 
context  and  the  variant  clearly  show. 

The  word  na-a-si  (E,  112)  is  not  Akkadian ; it  is  from  the  Hebrew 
root  nus  “to  escape.” 

There  are  other  Hebrew  words  discussed  in  the  notes  beneath 
the  translations,  some  of  which  are  tentatively  offered,  while  others 
are  reasonably  certain.  There  are  also  glosses.  Doubtless,  fur- 
ther study  will  reveal  more  which  were  rarely,  if  ever,  used  in 
Akkadian.  If  the  Um-napishtim  story  was  originally  written 
in  Sumerian,  or  even  in  Akkadian,  certainly  it  becomes  necessary 
to  explain  how  these  foreign  Hebrew  words,  even  in  this  late  version 
of  the  Assyrian  period,  came  to  be  used  in  the  Epic. 

It  is  the  writer’s  opinion  that  no  other  conclusion  can  be  arrived 
at  but  that  this  deluge  story,  which  probably  embraces  some 
elements  indigenous  to  Babylonia,  was  mainly  an  Amorite  legend 
which  the  Semites  from  Amurru  brought  with  them  from  the  West. 

Since  we  know  that  other  peoples  of  the  early  period  had  deluge 


I AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 


25 


stories,  it  would  be  precarious  to  say  that  the  Sumerians  and  the 
Babylonians  did  not  have  their  own,  especially  as  this  land  must 
have  suffered  even  more  than  others,  and  because  this  legend 
refers  to  Shurippak.  But  with  this  exception  there  is  nothing 
in  the  Gilgamesh  Epic  story  that  can  be  said  to  be  distinctively 
Babylonian.  Even  the  word  translated  “reed  hut”  is  very  proba- 
bly an  archaic  West  Semitic  word.17  And  on  the  other  hand,  there 
are,  as  we  have  seen,  a number  of  Hebrew  words  used  in  the  Epic, 
which  were  not  current  in  Babylonia ; which  together  with  other 
facts  show  that  the  story  is  mainly  Amorite.  Moreover,  it  is  not 
at  all  improbable  that  the  reference  to  Dilmun  in  the  Sumerian 
version,  if  that  name  is  to  be  identified  with  the  region  of  the 
Persian  Gulf,  is  also  a part  of  the  local  coloring  the  legend  received 
after  it  was  brought  into  Babylonia. 

Since  it  has  been  shown  that  the  Sumerian  story,  whose  hero 
was  named  Zi-u-suddu,  is  connected  with  the  Um-napishtim  story 
and  that  it  was  probably  written  at  a time  when  Sumerian  as  a 
spoken  language  had  survived  in  a more  or  less  corrupt  style,  some 
time  between  2300  and  1300  B.  C.,18  it  seems,  in  light  of  the  above, 
until  other  evidence  is  forthcoming,  the  only  conclusion  at  which 
we  can  arrive  is  that  it  must  be  regarded  as  a short  paraphrase  of 
the  Amorite  story,  which  may  include  some  features  of  a Sumerian 
tradition.  It  has  even  taken  over  the  Akkadian  word  puhru; 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  had  displaced  the  Amorite  huburu. 

The  fact  that  Sumerian  was  used  for  official  communications,  for 
legal  documents,  as  well  as  for  literature  in  general,  in  certain 
Babylonian  cities  in  the  latter  half  of  the  third  millennium  B.  C., 
makes  it  possible  to  understand  why  such  very  ancient  stories, 
which  had  been  brought  into  Babylonia  from  Amurru,  should  also 
be  found  written  in  Sumerian.  Nearly  every  inscription  from  Nip- 
pur of  this  period  is  written  in  Sumerian.  It  was  the  legal  and 
liturgical  language.  In  some  of  the  neighboring  cities  it  was  not 
so;  for  example,  Sippara;  whence  probably  came  the  ancient 
version  of  the  Amorite  Atra-hasis  Epic.  This  city  was  pre- 
eminently Semitic. 

17  See  note  under  E,  20. 

18  Poebel  Historical  Texts  66  f. 


26 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


It  has  been  claimed  that  the  little  Semitic  fragment,  containing 
thirteen  partially  preserved  lines,  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  was  originally  written  in  Sumerian,  and 
that  it  was  brought  to  Canaan  at  the  time  Abraham  “left  his  home 
on  the  Euphrates  and  moved  westward.”  But  the  few  lines  of 
this  supposed  Sumerian  story  are  full  of  Hebrew  words  which  were 
not  in  current  use  in  Akkadian. 

The  word  ub-bu-hu  “overthrow”  (F,  5)  has  not  as  yet  been 
found  in  either  language ; but  it  is  from  the  very  common  Hebrew 
root  meaning  “to  overthrow,”  which  root,  excepting  two  sub- 
stantives, was  not  in  current  use  in  Akkadian. 

Instead  of  reading  lu-pu-ut-tu  hu-ru-su  “destruction,  annihila- 
tion” (F,  5),  the  present  writer  prefers  to  read  lu-pu-ut-tu  hu-ru-su 
‘ ‘ verily  give  attention  to  silence.  ’ ’ The  root  of  the  latter  in  Hebrew 
means  “to  be  silent,  to  be  speechless.”  In  other  words,  the  hero 
is  told  of  the  proposed  flood,  to  keep  silence,  and  to  build  a ship. 

The  word  ga-be-e  “high”  or  “height”  (F,  7)  is  found  in 
Hebrew,  Arabic,  and  Aramaic ; but  not  in  Akkadian. 

Instead  of  ba-bil  (F,  8)  the  reading  is  ma-sum-sa  “and  its 
name;”  this  contains  the  Amorite  waw  conjunctive. 

Certainly  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  seems  strange  that  the 
Akkadian  translator  of  this  supposed  Sumerian  story  should  have 
used  so  many  Hebrew  words  which  were  not  in  current  use  in 
Babylonia,  in  making  the  translation  of  these  few  lines  into 
Akkadian. 

The  writer  fully  appreciates  the  fact  that  at  any  time  cuneiform 
inscriptions  may  be  found  in  Babylonia  which  will  contain  examples 
of  these  Hebrew  words  other  than  those  already  known;  because 
of  the  flow  of  Western  Semites  in  nearly  all  periods  into  this  land; 
nevertheless,  it  will  be  possible  to  continue  to  maintain  that  they 
were  not  in  current  use  in  the  Akkadian  dialect. 

Nearly  all  scholars  who  have  published  discussions  of  the  Bibli- 
cal deluge  traditions  in  recent  years  have  conceded  that  they  are 
of  Babylonian  origin.  This  view  can  be  said  to  have  been  very 
generally  accepted  by  scholars.  Some  hold  that  these  stories  were 
brought  from  Babylonia  to  Canaan  by  Abraham;  others  say  that 
they  were  transmitted  to  the  West  in  the  Amarna  period,  but  the 


I AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 


27 


great  majority  of  scholars  hold  that  knowledge  of  them  was 
obtained  in  Babylonia  at  the  time  of  the  exile.  Two  arguments 
are  generally  advanced  for  this  position;  the  one  is,  the  great  age 
of  Babylonian  civilization,  which  involved  the  idea  that  civilization 
in  the  West  had  only  developed  a little  before  2000  B.  C.,  by  Arabs 
from  Arabia;  and  the  other  argument  is  based  on  the  frequency 
of  inundations  in  Babylonia,  which  gave  rise  to  these  so-called 
nature  myths. 

In  1909  the  present  writer  endeavored  to  show  that  the  Baby- 
lonian origin  of  the  Biblical  deluge  stories  was  without  any  founda- 
tion; but  that  they  were  indigenous  to  the  West;  and  that,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Babylonian  story  of  the  deluge,  as  preserved  in 
the  Gilgamesh  Epic,  contained  West-Semitic  elements;  showing 
that  no  other  conclusion  could  be  arrived  at,  but  that  extensive 
influences  had  been  felt  from  Amurru.19  The  arguments  for  these 
views  were  based  almost  entirely  upon  such  literary  evidence  as 
the  names  of  the  gods,  who  are  mentioned  in  the  story,  as  being 
Amorite,  as  well  as  the  name  of  the  pilot  of  the  ship,  Buzur- 
Amurru.20  In  the  above  discussion  additional  proof  is  offered 
from  a linguistic  point  of  view  for  this  thesis. 

These  discoveries  show  that  there  is  no  need  to  find  the  origin 
of  the  Biblical  stories  in  Babylonia,  because  of  the  theory  that 
the  West  in  the  early  period  did  not  have  an  indigenous  literature, 
and  did  not  have  a civilization.  The  present  version,  and  other 
data  presented  in  the  discussion  in  another  chapter,  forever  dis- 
prove this  hypothesis ; and  require  its  abandonment.  Moreover,  it 
is  necessary  that  a general  readjustment  be  made  of  views 
advanced  by  Pan-Babylonists,  and  Pan-Egypto-Babylonists,  whose 
positions  have  been  based  upon  the  supposed  Arabic  origin  of  the 
Semites  in  Amurru;  and  upon  the  supposedly  late  rise  and 
development  of  civilization  in  that  land. 

The  discoveries  made  since  1909,  when  the  present  writer 
first  contested  this  position,  clearly  show  that  we  have  reasons 
for  believing  that  the  civilization  of  the  Western  Semites  syn- 
chronizes with  the  earliest  that  has  been  found  in  Babylonia  and 

“ Clay  Amurru  the  Home  of  the  Northern  Semites  71  ff. 

20  On  the  name  Buzur- Amurru  see  Clay  Amurru  82. 


28 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


Egypt.  More  recently  the  writer  lias  shown  also  that  the  theory 
must  be  abandoned  that  the  so-called  Egypto-Babylonian  culture 
brought  forth  the  earliest  civilization  in  the  thousand  years  between 
four  thousand  and  three  thousand  B.  C.,  while  all  the  rest  of  the 
world  continued  to  live  in  stone  age  barbarism  or  savagery  ;21  for 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  in  Amurru,  with  its  natural 
agricultural  districts  over  wide-spread  areas  such  as  those  about 
Hit,  Aleppo,  Haran,  etc.,  with  its  wonderfully  wooded  districts,  as 
in  the  Lebanon  region,  with  its  mines  and  natural  products,  which 
in  ancient  times,  as  at  present,  have  been  so  attractive  for  other 
peoples;  and  also  in  Elam,  with  its  valleys  so  well  adapted  for 
agriculture,  with  its  hills  for  grazing,  its  quarries  for  stone,  its 
mines  for  metal,  and  its  forests  for  wood;  as  well  as  in  other  lands 
in  Asia,  man  throve  before  the  time  when  through  intelligence 
and  labor,  it  was  possible  for  him  to  control  the  annual  floods  in 
alluvial  Babylonia,  and  dwell  there.  And  further,  if  the  Egyptian 
chronology  of  the  Berlin  School  is  correct,  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  in  Syria  theVe  was  a civilization  which  greatly 
antedated  the  Egyptian;22  for,  as  will  be  seen,  we  now  have  addi- 
tional discoveries  that  prove  beyond  doubt  that  civilization  in  Syria 
has  as  great  an  antiquity  as  in  Babylonia.  The  importance  of  this 
will  be  readily  recognized,  in  connection  with  the  discovery  of  the 
Hebrew  or  Amorite  Deluge  Legend ; in  that  it  furnishes  us  with  the 
background  for  the  civilization  to  which  it  belonged;  and  it  also 
makes  it  appear  more  reasonable  that  the  Biblical  legends  of  the 
deluge  could  be  indigenous. 

There  is  another  very  important  fact  which  the  old  version  has 
revealed,  and  that  is  the  occurrence  of  1-lu  “God,”  in  the  title  of 
the  series,  as  well  as  in  the  text,  for  the  foremost  deity’s  name. 
This  title  was  originally  incorrectly  read  Inuma  sallu  awelum, 
and  since  translated  many  times  “when  a man  lay  down  to  sleep” ; 
but  1-lu  is  perfectly  clear  on  the  tablet,  in  the  legend’s  context 
and  in  the  colophon.  Ilu  “God”  here  takes  the  place  of  AN  in  the 
early  Semitic  and  Sumerian  texts,  and  of  Ann  of  later  texts.  The 
ideogram  AN  in  the  early  period  in  nearly  all  such  connections 
has  been  generally  read  Ann  or  Ana. 

21  Breasted  Scientific  Monthly  1919,  p.  577. 

23  Clay  Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society  41  241  ff. 


I AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 


29 


It  is  well  known  that  the  god  whose  name  was  written  with  the 
sign  AN  “god,”  was  the  highest  of  the  gods;  who  had  created 
mankind;  and  who  was  worshipped  as  the  supreme  ruler  of  the 
universe.  In  the  test  here  published,  we  learn  that  the  Western 
Semites  in  this  early  period  called  the  Godhead  I-lu,  or  El  “God,” 
the  same  as  in  the  Old  Testament;  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 
but  that  in  the  early  period,  the  Akkadians  did  the  same. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  the  Sumerians,  before  they  came  to 
Babylonia,  called  their  foremost  deity  Ana  or  Anna;  but  there 
is  no  proof  for  this.  To  the  writer  it  seems  more  probable  that 
after  they  had  conquered  the  land,  and  created  or  furnished  the 
people  with  the  cuneiform  syllabary,  they  wrote  AN,  which  in  their 
language  meant  “heaven,”  as  well  as  dingir  “god,”  for  the  name 
of  the  most  high  god  of  the  Semites,  namely  Ilu.  Certainly  in  the 
early  syllabaries  (see  below),  AN  represented  llu.  In  time  AN 
became  Semitized  into  Anu,  in  the  same  way  that  En-lil  “lord  of 
the  storm”  became  Ellil.  It  is  also  not  improbable  that  the  West 
Semitic  Anu-llu,  whose  influence  was  so  extensively  felt  in  the 
West,  even  in  Egypt,  is  the  origin  of  the  Erechian  Anu.23  More- 
over, we  know  for  a certainty  that  while  Anu  of  Erech  later  gen- 
erally replaced  Ilu,  this  fact  was  fully  appreciated  by  later  genera- 
tions when  they  used  Anu  and  Antu  with  the  generic  sense  of 
‘ ‘ god ’ ’ and  ‘ ‘ goddess.  ’ ’ 

This  explanation  of  the  origin  of  Anu  or  Anu(m),  also  written 
Annum,  and  in  Sumerian  texts  An  and  An-na,  and  the  fact  that 
Anu  had  the  meaning  “god,”  which  was  pointed  out  many  years 
ago,  gives  us  reasons  why  the  Erechian  Anu  “the  creator,”  “the 
father  of  the  gods,”  was  never  displaced  as  the  head  of  the 
pantheon.  And  it  seems  that  these  reasons  satisfactorily  account 
for  the  name  being  written  without  the  determinative  for  deity, 
even  after  the  ideogram  AN  had  become  Babylonized  into  A-num, 
as  is  the  case  in  the  “Old  Babylonian  Version  of  the  Gilgamesh 
Epic”;  where,  except  A-num,  all  the  gods,  even  the  heroes,  have 
the  determinative.  This  can  only  mean  that  Anu  at  that  time 
meant  “god.”  And  although  the  Babylonian  word  or  name  Anu 
1 ‘ god  ’ ’ had  its  origin  in  the  Amorite  word  or  name  Ilu,  the  deity 


a See  Clay  Empire  of  the  Amorites,  168  f. 


30 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


designated  by  these  words  or  names  in  time  became  quite  distinct. 
This  becomes  apparent  especially  in  periods  when  fresh  migrations 
from  the  homeland  take  place. 

The  reading  Anu  for  AN  in  the  initial  line  of  the  Hammurabi 
Code  is  being  very  generally  adopted ; but  it  is  a mistake.24  When 
Anu  of  Erech  is  referred  to  in  the  Code,  his  name  is  written 
Anum(-num),25  whereas  the  chief  deity’s  name,  “the  father  of 
the  gods,”  who  together  with  Ellil,  as  Hammurabi  says,  “raised 
the  towers  of  Babylon,”  is  written  Ilu  (AN). 26  This  clear-cut  dis- 
tinction must  be  recognized.  Moreover,  the  present  text  containing 
ilu,  as  well  as  the  hundreds  of  personal  names  belonging  to  this 
early  period  compounded  with  ilu,  and  other  facts,  clearly  show 
that  the  Western  Semites,  as  well  as  the  early  Akkadians,  used  the 
word  ilu  “God”  to  represent  their  creator  and  supreme  ruler. 
Naturally,  this  fully  confirms  the  impression  we  get  from  the  Old 
Testament,  that  the  Semites,  in  the  land  called  Amurru  by  the 
Babylonians,  which  included  Aram,  used  the  word  il(u)  or  el(u) 
to  designate  their  most  high  god,  their  El  Elyonr 7 

Ea  was  not  a Sumerian  god,  but  the  second  in  the  Amorite 
triad,  Ilu,  Ea  and  Adad.  His  name  was  written  phonetically 
dE-a,  and  ideographically  dEn-Ki  “lord  of  the  land,”  because  he 
was  Ba‘al,  so  well  known  to  us  in  the  inscriptions  of  the  West, 
including  the  Old  Testament.  While  Ilu  was  supreme,  Ea  was 
the  lord  of  the  earth,  of  the  rivers,  of  the  springs,  of  the  wells,  and 
of  the  waters  beneath  the  earth.  It  was  only  after  the  Semites 
had  carried  his  worship  to  the  southern  part  of  the  great  alluvium, 
where  a temple  was  erected  for  him  at  Eridu  on  the  sea,  that 
his  cult  took  on  the  peculiar  Babylonian  aspect  with  which  we 
are  so  familiar.  In  this  alluvium,  wells  are  dug,  but  springs  of  the 

w Seheil  originally  read  ilu.  He  was  followed  by  Peiser,  Winekler,  Pinches,  and  others; 
but  since  Harper  read  Anu,  not  a few  have  followed  this  reading.  Throughout  the  Code, 
ilu  is  used  for  ‘ ‘ the  god.  ’ ’ Did  the  codifier  in  the  body  of  the  laws  avoid  the  use  of 
Marduk  or  Shamash,  the  god  of  laws,  so  that  his  code  would  be  acceptable  in  places 
where  these  deities  were  not  worshipped;  or  does  not  the  use  of  ilu  show  rather  the  West 
Semitic  origin  of  the  Code? 

33  See  2 : 46 ; and  44 : 51. 

36  See  1:1;  1:  31;  40:  64;  42:  45. 

37  Cf.  the  important  contribution  on  the  subject,  Hehn  Die  Biblische  und  die  Baby- 
lonische  Gottcsidc  150  ff. 


I AN  ANCIENT  HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY 


31 


earth  are  unknown.  The  rivers  and  the  rain  alone  bring’  fertility 
to  the  soil.  Ea  having  presided  over  the  waters  of  the  earth 
naturally  became  in  Eridu  the  god  of  the  deep  and  of  the  rivers. 
But  this  is  a local  and  a late  conception  of  Ea,  the  great  Amorite 
Ba‘al.  Simply  because  excavations  have  been  conducted  in  Baby- 
lonia where  the  almost  imperishable  clay  tablets  have  been 
recovered  in  such  masses,  and  in  Amurru  little  or  nothing  of  this 
kind  has  as  yet  been  done,  where  also  the  perishable  papyrus  and 
skin  was  used  so  extensively  for  writing  material,  is  responsible 
for  the  faulty  conception  that  exists  at  present  not  only  of  the  god 
Ea,  but  of  the  entire  historical  situation  prior  to  the  time  of 
Hammurabi. 

Adad,  the  god  of  the  elements,  usually  called  the  “storm  god,” 
is  Hadad  of  Amurru,  the  third  of  the  early  triad.  At  a very 
early  time  his  worship  was  brought  into  Babylonia.  It  is  gener- 
ally conceded  that  he  is  an  Amorite  god,  and  that  he  had  been 
adopted  as  a member  of  the  Babylonian  pantheon.  The  ideogram 
dIM  read  Adad,  as  is  well  known,  stands  for  other  names  of  the 
storm-god,  as  Ramman,  Amurru,  MarM,  Mur,  Sharu,  etc. 

At  Nippur,  the  foremost  deity  was  such  a god  as  Adad.  His 
name  was  written  ideographically  dEn-Lil,  “the  lord  of  the 
storm;”  which  in  time  was  used  as  his  name,  and  even  pronounced 
Ellil.  It  is  possible  that  the  Sumerians,  who  at  an  early  time 
took  possession  of  this  city,  also  had  a storm  god ; but  this  cannot 
be  proved.  The  writer  feels  that  dEn-Lil  was  originally  Adad. 
In  the  Gilgamesh  Epic,  he  instead  of  Adad  is  the  destructive  god ; 
in  other  words  he  had  supplanted  him  after  Nippur  became  the 
supreme  city  in  the  land.  En-lil  also  displaced  Ea,  when  he  became 
the  bel  matati,  “lord  of  the  lands ;”  and  thereafter  he  took  the  place 
of  Ea  as  the  second  god  in  the  triad;  so  that  instead  of  Ilu,  Ea, 
and  Adad,  the  triad  became  Ilu  (AN),  Enlil,  and  Ea.  Later,  when 
Babylon  became  the  centre  of  the  hegemony,  Enlil  was  displaced 
by  Marduk,  the  god  of  that  city,  who  himself  became  the  Ba‘al, 
or  Bel. 

This  forcibly  recalls  the  fact  that  a large  name  syllabary  found 
at  Nippur,  belonging  to  the  early  period,  contains  several  groups 

23  See  Chiera’s  important  contribution  on  the  subject,  Lists  of  Personal  Names  39  f. 


32 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  . RESEARCHES  V-3 


of  Semitic  names  compounded  with  those  of  Amorite  gods.  One 
of  these  groups,  occurring  several  times,  contains  AN,  E-a  and  dlM, 
and  the  other  contains  dDagan , Ishtar  and  Gaga;  while  dEnlil,  in 
whose  school  of  scribes  the  tablet  was  written,  occurs  only  twice 
among  its  several  hundred  names.28  We  have  knowledge  of  cer- 
tain syllabaries  having  been  repeated  for  millenniums;  and  it  is 
not  impossible  that  this  particular  one  was  originally  written 
prior  to  the  time  when  Nippur’s  god  became  “the  lord  of  lands”; 
in  other  words,  prior  to  the  time  when  the  foremost  triad  became 
AN,  Enlil,  and  Ea.  Certainly  we  can  understand  why  Ea,  who 
figures  in  the  early  myths  and  legends  in  a much  higher  position 
and  role  than  the  storm-god  Adad  (or  Enlil),  originally  followed 
the  foremost  deity.  Yes,  even  in  the  West  Semitic  creation  myth, 
Anu  and  Ea  are  the  creators,  while  the  storm-god,  who  is  there 
called  Marduk,  fights  the  great  Tiamat,  And  we  can  also  under- 
stand how,  subsequent  to  the  time  when  Nippur’s  Enlil  became 
“ lord  of  the  lands,”  that  god  came  to  take  the  place  of  Ea  next  to 
the  most  high  god.  Moreover,  it  seems  that  conclusive  proof  of 
this  position  is  to  be  found  in  the  “Explanatory  Lists  of  Gods.” 
In  the  most  ancient  (II  R 59),  Ilu  (AN)  is  followed  by  Ea  (and  his 
consort),  and  Enlil  (and  his  consort).  In  the  later  and  fuller  lists, 
which  were  also  written  in  an  early  period,  this  order  is  maintained, 
but  Anu,  and  a consort  Antu  who  was  created  by  the  force  of 
analogy,  take  the  place  of  Ilu. 

In  consideration  of  all  available  data,  it  is  reasonable  to  con- 
jecture that  this  Amorite  deluge  story,  which  preserves  the  names 
of  the  foremost  original  triad,  goes  back  to  a time  as  early  as 
4000  B.  C. 


II 


ANCIENT  FRAGMENT  OF  THE  ETANA  LEGEND 

Through  the  discovery  of  dynastic  lists  and  other  historical  data 
the  great  antiquity  of  Babylonian  civilization  is  now  fully  deter- 
mined. We  now  have  Gists  of  rulers  which  carry  us  back  to  the' 
fifth  millennium  B.  C.  Instead  of  the  earliest  period  known  repre- 
senting the  beginning  of  civilization,  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  millenniums  of  history,  not  of  savagery,  but  of  civilized 
man,  precede  what  we  now  know  as  the  earliest ; and  when  syste- 
matic excavations  are  conducted  in  Central  Asia,  in  Asia  Minor, 
and  in  Syria,  we  shall  have  data  whereby  the  gap  between  pre- 
historic man  of  millenniums  ago  and  man  of  the  earliest  historic 
period  will  be  considerably  reduced. 

In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  the  reconstructed  list  of  ruling 
cities  and  kings.  Excluding  the  two  earliest  dynasties,  to  the 
reigns  of  which  fabulous  numbers  of  years  are  given,  we  find  our- 
selves at  a period  about  4000  B.  C.  (Others  make  the  date  earlier, 
see  below.)  Etana  belongs  to  the  first  of  the  two  dynasties  which 
precede  this  period ; which  ruled  in  the  fifth  millennium  B.  C. 

The  first  eight  names  of  the  earliest  dynasty,  namely  that  of 
Kish,  are  fragmentary,  or  are  wanting.  The  first  five  that  are 
fully  preserved  are  Semitic;  and  several  of  these,  at  least,  are 
unquestionably  West  Semitic.  The  fourth  ruler,  who  has  been 
heretofore  regarded  as  mythical,  is  Etana;  he  is  now  restored  to 
his  place  as  a ruler. 

It  is  generally  understood  that  in  certain  Aryan  lands  gods 
became  men.  Many  scholars  maintain  that  the  same  has  occurred 
with  the  Semites.  They  have  said  that  Nimrod,  the  patriarchs, 
and  many  other  Biblical  characters  were  originally  deities,  that 
Etana,  Lugal  Marda,  Tammuz,  Gilgamesh  and  many  other  Baby- 
lonian rulers  had  also  descended  from  the  realms  of  mythology. 
Fortunately  clay  tablets,  which  are  not  so  perishable  as  skins  or 
papyrus,  have  recently  furnished  us  with  the  material  whereby 
some  of  the  so-called  deities  are  restored  to  their  places  in  dynastic 


31 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


lists,  and  whereby  it  is  possible  to  assert  that  it  cannot  be  proved 
that  gods  ever  became  mortals  in  the  Semitic  world.  The  order 
must  be  exactly  reversed.  While  anthropomorphic  ideas  are 
attributed  to  the  deities,  we  have  no  instance  of  a Semitic  god 
becoming  a man. 

This  fragment  of  an  old  version  of  the  Etana  Legend  was  written 
about  2000  years  earlier  than  the  fragments  found  in  the  Library 
of  Ashurbanipal  (668-626  B.  C.).  It  has  also  been  previously 
published.1  It  contains  the  opening  and  the  closing  lines  of  a large 
tablet,  which  had  three  columns  on  the  obverse  and  three  on  the 
reverse.  It  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  complete  tablet  must  have 
contained  about  275  lines.  Among  the  fragments  of  the  Epic 
written  in  the  Assyrian  period  there  is  one  which  duplicates 
partially  some  lines  of  the  present  text.  An  outline  of  the  legend 
as  now  known  from  the  different  fragments  follows  :2 

The  deity  had  deserted  the  city;  and  in  consequence,  anarchy 
and  confusion  prevailed,  and  productivity  ceased;  the  sheep  no 
longer  bore  young.  The  gods  desiring  to  bring  this  state  to  an 
end  designated  Ishtar  to  go  to  the  rescue ; and  Etana  was  installed 
as  king.  About  this  time  an  Eagle  and  a Serpent  formed  an 
alliance  to  carry  on  the  work  of  destruction.  Each,  accompanied 
by  a brood,  went  to  the  mountain  for  prey ; each  killed  an  animal ; 
and  then  shared  them  with  their  broods.  Although  warned  not  to 
do  so  by  one  of  her  offspring,  the  Eagle  pounced  upon  and  devoured 
the  young  of  the  Serpent.  The  Serpent  appealed  to  Shamash, 
the  god  of  justice,  and  was  advised  to  conceal  herself  in  the  carcass 
of  a bull  that  they  had  slain,  and  when  the  Eagle  swooped 
down  upon  it,  to  seize  and  tear  her  to  pieces.  This  was  done,  and 
the  Eagle  was  left  to  die  in  a hole  in  the  mountain.  The  Eagle  in 
turn  appealed  to  Shamash,  promising  eternal  obedience  if  rescued. 
Daily  Etana  also  pleaded  with  Shamash  to  show  him  the  “plant  of 

1 Scheil  Reeueil  dc  Travaux  23,  18  ff.  A transliteration  and  translation  on  the  basis  of 
the  same  text  was  published  by  Jensen  KB  VI  1 100  ff,  and  581  ff.  See  also  Frank 
Studien  zur  Bahylonischen  Religion  105  ff. 

2 George  Smith  Chaldean  Genesis  138  ff  published  the  first  three  known  fragments. 
E.  J.  Harper  published  seven  other  fragments,  BA  II  441  ff.,  and  503  ff.  Jastrow  BA 
III  379  ff,  and  JAOS  30,  101  ff,  published  two  others.  See  also  Jensen  KB  VI  1 100  ff. 
For  a discussion  of  all  the  fragments,  see  Jastrow  JAOS  30,  101  ff. 


II  ANCIENT  FRAGMENT  OF  THE  ETANA  LEGEND 


35 


birth,’’  that  fertility  might  be  restored.  The  god  told  him  to  seek 
the  hole  in  the  mountain  into  which  the  Eagle  had  been  thrown, 
and.  there  the  plant  would  be  shown  him.  Upon  his  arrival  at  the 
hole  the  Eagle  appealed  to  Etana  for  help,  promising  in  return 
to  fly  with  him  to  the  dwelling  of  the  gods,  probably  with  the  idea 
of  obtaining  immortality.  Etana  mounted  upon  the  back  of  the 
Eagle,  and  together  they  reached  the  heaven  of  Anu.  The  Eagle 
urged  Etana  to  proceed  to  the  dwelling  of  Ishtar,  the  planet  Venus ; 
but  after  a flight  of  six  hours,  either  through  exhaustion  or  the 
intervention  of  the  goddess,  a precipitous  descent  to  the  earth  was 
made.  The  fragmentary  character  of  the  end  of  the  legend  leaves 
us  in  doubt  whether  or  not  it  proved  fatal.  There  can  be  little 
question  but  that  many  details  of  the  legend  are  still  wanting, 
as  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  art  of  the  seal  cylinders,  depicting 
the  ascent.3 

The  content  of  the  beginning  of  the  present  text  points  to  its 
being  the  opening  part  of  probably  the  second  tablet  of  the  series 
which  contained  the  legend.  The  closing  lines  refer  to  the  resus- 
citation of  the  Eagle  at  the  mountain  hole  with  the  assistance 
of  Etana.  Unfortunately  the  tablet  did  not  contain  a colophon. 
The  fact  that  the  last  column  is  not  completely  filled  out,  would 
indicate  that  it  was  copied  from  a still  earlier  inscription.  While 
it  is  not  impossible  that  the  legend  was  originally  written  in 
Sumerian,  there  is  nothing  in  this  ancient  version  to  suggest  that 
this  was  the  case. 

The  early  dynastic  lists  of  Babylonia,  given  in  the  Appendix, 
show  that  Etana,  ‘ 4 the  shepherd,  ’ ’ who  lived  in  the  fifth  millennium 
B.  C.,  was  an  usurper,  and  became  the  twelfth  ruler  of  the  first 
dynasty  of  Kish,  who  4 4 ruled  all  lands.”4  In  the  omen  text  dis- 
cussed below,  he  is  called  “king.” 

The  name  Etana  is  West  Semitic,  as  are  several  of  the  first 
five  rulers  of  the  early  Kish  dynasty,  which  have  been  preserved. 
In  this  fragment  of  the  early  version,  besides  the  god  Anu,  only 
the  Anunnaki  and  the  Sibitu  are  mentioned.  In  the  late  version 
many  other  Semitic  gods  are  referred  to,  some  of  whom  may  have 

z See  Ward  The  Seal  Cylinders  of  Western  Asia,  142  ff. 

4 See  Poebel  Historical  Texts  p.  88. 


36 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


been  introduced  in  the  later  period.  An  interesting  parallel  to 
this  is  the  adding  of  Ishtar’s  name  as  one  of  the  gods  of  Eanna  in 
the  late  redaction  of  the  Gilgamesh  Epic,  whereas  in  the  early 
version,  the  temple  Eanna  is  the  dwelling  place  of  Anu  alone.6 

It  is  not  impossible  that  the  Etana  Legend  lias  an  historical 
background,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Lugal  Marda,  the  Gilgamesh, 
and  other  epics  (see  below).  As  in  the  case  of  the  so-called  “Zu 
bird,”  the  Eagle  and  the  Serpent  may  represent  two  powers  which 
were  ravaging  the  lands,  probably  at  a time  when  a famine  pre- 
vailed; and  upon  their  having  difficulties  between  themselves, 
Etana  aided  the  Eagle.  His  aspirations  in  connection  with  ruling 
all  lands,  whereby  he  would  become  immortal,  having  been  urged 
and  abetted  by  the  Eagle,  received  a set-back ; which  allegorically 
is  told  in  the  story  of  his  ascent  to  heaven.  The  power  represented 
by  the  Eagle  is  probably  to  be  identified  with  the  “Zu  bird”  (see 
below),  to  whom  the  Serpent  refers  as  a “worker  of  evil”  in  his 
address  to  the  god  Shamash.6  The  fact  that  the  Serpent  is  told  “to 
take  the  road  to  the  mountains,”  and  that  Etana  found  the  Eagle  in 
a hole  in  the  mountain,  would  show  that  the  scene  was  not  laid  in 
Babylonia,  but  in  a mountainous  district,  probably  the  West. 

The  symbol  of  an  invader  of  the  following  dynasty,  whose  name 
was  written  Nin-Gish-Zidda  in  Sumerian,  was  the  Serpent.  The 
well-known  goblet  of  Gudea  with  the  caduceus,  which  in  a later 
period  was  dedicated  to  this  deified  king;  the  bas-relief  depicting 
this  demi-god,  who  with  heads  of  serpents  protruding  from  his 
shoulders  is  leading  Gudea,  as  well  as  the  seal  of  this  great  patesi,7 
clearly  indicate  that  the  serpent  was  the  emblem  of  Nin-Gish- 
Zidda.  It  is  also  not  improbable  that  the  title  usumgal,  which  can 
be  translated  “the  great  serpent,”  as  well  as  “the  great  one,” 
so  frequently  used  in  connection  with  titles  of  Tammuz,  the  son 
of  Nin-Gish-Zidda,  also  refers  to  the  Serpent. 

The  worship  of  the  Serpent  is  very  general  in  Elam,  Egypt, 
Phoenicia,  Haiti,  Persia,  India,  China,  and  Greece.  Whether  in 

6 Cf.  Jastrow-Clay  An  Old  Babylonian  Version  of  the  Gelgamesh  Epic  p.  64:  58  with 
KB  VI  1,  128:  37  etc. 

9 Cf.  KB  VI  1,  104:  13.  This  being  true,  the  reference  to  Zu,  the  invader,  being  an 
anachronism,  was  added  in  some  late  redaction. 

7 See  Heuzey  BA  5,  137,  and  Meyer  Sumerier  und  Semiten  in  Babylonian  Taf.  VII. 


II  ANCIENT  FRAGMENT  OF  THE  ETANA  LEGEND 


37 


the  early  period  it  was  so  universal,  or  whether  for  the  ancient 
period  additional  information  will  show  that  it  was  merely  local, 
cannot  be  surmised.  It  would,  therefore,  seem  precarious  to  say 
more  than  that  Tammuz  and  his  father  seem  to  have  been  identified 
with  a state  the  emblem  of  which  was  probably  the  Serpent  ( siru ). 

In  this  connection  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  Dragon  Legend 
( CT  13  33).  It  was  after  “the  cities  sighed”  for  relief  when 
“Tamtu  the  Serpent  (siru)”  was  the  oppressor,  that  dSUH  was 
asked  to  stir  up  a cloud,  a storm  and  a tempest,  and  by  slaying  the 
Dragon  “to  deliver  the  broad  land.”  No  one  seems  to  hold  the 
view  that  the  name  Tamtu  is  Sumerian ; and  the  writer  feels  that 
he  has  already  shown  there  can  be  no  question  but  that  it  is  West 
Semitic  (see  Amurru  51ff).  The  Eagle  probably  also  represented 
a power  in  the  West.  The  transliteration  and  translation  of  the 
ancient  fragment  of  the  Etana  Epic  follow : 

Ra-bu-tum  dAnunnaki  ( A-Nun-na ) sa-i-mu  si-im-tim 
us-bu  im-li-ku  mi-li-ik  sa  ma-a-ta-am 
ba-nu  ki-ib-ra-tim  sa-ki-nu  si-ki-it-tim 
si-ru  a-na  ni-si  i-lu  I-gi-gu 
5 i-zi-nam  a-na  ni-si  i-si-mu 
sar-ra-am  la  is-ku-nu  ka-lu  ni-si  e-bi-a-tim 
i-na  lim-me-tim  la  ka-as-ra-at  ku-ub-sum  me-a-nu 
u ha-at-tu-um  uk-ni-a-am  la  sa-ab-ra-at 
la  ba-nu-u,  is-ti-ni-is  pa-ra-ak-ku 
10  si-bi-te  ba-bu  ud-du-lu  e-lu  da-ap-nim 

ha-at-tu-um  me-a-nu-um  ku-ub-sum  u si-bi-ir-ru 
ku-ud-mi-is  A-ni-im  i-na  sa-ma-i  sa-ak-nu 
u-ul  i-ba-as-si  mi-it-lu-ku  ni-si-sa 
[ sar\ -ru-tum  i-na  sa-ma-i  ur-da-am 

i-si-i 

45  ha-as-su  is-ba-ta-am  si-bi-e  it  ... 

sa-am-na-am  wa-ar-ha-am  u-si-te-ga  su-ut-ta-as-su 
e-ru-u  ma-hi-ir  u-ku-ul-ta-am  ki-ma  ni-si-im  na-e-ri 
e-mu-ga-am  i-su 

e-ru-um  pa-a-su  i-pu-sa-am-ma  a-na  E-ta-na-ma 
iz-za-ga-ar-su 

50  ib-ri  lu-u,  it-ba-ra-nu  a-na[-ku]  u at-ta 

qi-bi-a-am-ma  sa  te-e-ir-ri-sa-an-ni  lu-ud-di-ik-ma 


38  YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  ■ RESEARCHES  V-3 

E-ta-na  pa-a-su  i-pu-sa-am-ma  a-na  e-ri-im-ma 
iz-za-ga-ar-su 
i mi- . . -ti  ka-ti-im-ti 

The  great  Anunnaki  who  decide  fate, 

Sat  down,  took  counsel  concerning  the  land. 

Builders  of  the  quarters,  the  authors  of  nature, 

The  Igigi,  being  against  the  people, 

5 Determined  upon  enmity  for  the  people. 

They  established  not  a king ; they  shut  up  the  people  in  the  dwellings. 
In  that  time(  ?)  a headgear  was  not  bound,  a crown 
And  a sceptre  of  lapislazuli  had  not  been  possessed. 

They  had  not  built  together  a shrine. 

10  The  Sibitu  locked  the  gates  against  the  mighty. 

The  sceptre,  crown,  headgear,  and  staff, 

As  in  former  times,  before  Anu  in  the  heavens  was  placed. 

There  is  no  counsel  for  its  people. 

The  kingship  has  gone  down  from  the  heavens. 

had  .... 

45  Took  care ; on  the  seventh 

On  the  eighth  month  he  proceeded  to  his  hole. 

The  eagle  having  received  food,  like  a roaring  lion 
Became  strong. 

The  eagle  opened  his  mouth,  and  to  Etana  spoke  to  him : 

50  ‘ My  friend,  truly  we  are  friends,  I and  thou. 

Command,  and  when  thou  hast  cured  me,  I will  kill.’ 

Etana  opened  his  mouth,  and  to  the  eagle  spoke  to  him: 
covered 


Ill 


A FRAGMENT  OF  THE  ADAPA  LEGEND. 

The  third  fragment  contains  a portion  of  the  well-known  Adapa 
Legend ; but,  unfortunately,  it  has  not  been  possible  as  yet  to  deter- 
mine in  what  period  Adapa  lived. 

What  is  known  of  the  legend  of  Adapa  is  based  upon  several 
fragmentary  tablets  which  at  one  time  belonged  to  the  Library 
of  Ashurbanipal  (668-626  B.  C.),1  including  the  present  text,  which 
also  had  been  published  about  twenty-five  years  ago,2  and  upon  one 
that  was  found  among  the  Egyptian  archives  of  Amenopliis  III 
and  IV,  of  the  fourteenth  century  B.  C.3  The  present  text  is  from 
a fragment  which  contains  the  first  part  of  the  legend.  A brief 
outline  of  the  story  follows,  as  it  has  been  recovered  up  to  the 
present. 

Adapa,  a semi-divine  seer,  who  was  priest  of  the  temple  of 
Ea,  in  Eridu,  had  been  granted  wisdom  by  his  father,  the  god  Ea, 
but  not  eternal  life.  One  day,  in  exercising  one  of  the  functions 
of  his  office,  namely  fishing  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  a sudden  squall 
from  the  south  upset  his  boat.  Angered  at  this,  he  broke  the 
wings  of  the  south  wind  so  that  for  seven  days  it  did  not  blow 
the  cooling  breezes  of  the  sea  over  the  land.  In  consequence 
Adapa  was  summoned  by  the  god  Anu  to  appear  before  him  in 
heaven.  Thereupon  his  father  Ea  told  him  how  to  excite  the 
sympathy  of  Gish-Zidda  and  Tammuz,  two  deified  kings  (see  last 
chapter),  who  stood  at  the  portals  of  heaven.  Being  cautioned 
by  his  father  not  to  partake  of  the  food  and  the  drink  that  would 
be  set  before  him,  he  refused ; but  excess  of  caution  was  responsible 

1 See  K.8219,  published  by  Strong  PSBA  16,  274  f;  and  X.8743,  published  by  Jensen 
KB  VI  1,  XVII  ff. 

‘ This  text,  and  its  translation  were  originally  published  by  Seheil,  Becueil  de  Travaux 
20  (1898),  127  ff.  Zimmern  from  a photograph,  in  Gunkel  Schopfung  und  Chaos  420  ff, 
offered  several  improved  readings.  These  were  utilized  by  Jensen  KB  VI  1,  92  ff,  as 
well  as  by  others.  For  other  translations  see  Ungnad  ATB  I 34  ff ; Barton  Archaeology 
and  the  Bible  260  ff ; and  Rogers  Cuneiform  Parallels  67  ff. 

8 See  Winckler  and  Abel  Thontafelfund  von  El-Amarna  No.  240;  and  Sehroeder  VS, 
12,  194.  For  the  transliteration  and  translation  see  Knudtzon  Die  El-Amarna  Tafeln  No. 
356,  p.  964  ff. 


40 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


for  his  not  receiving  the  food  and  water  of  life,  whereby  eternal  life 
would  have  been  gained. 

Scholars  have  pointed  out  certain  resemblances  of  the  story 
to  that  of  Adam  in  Genesis ; and  some  even  have  contended  that 
the  Adapa  Legend  is  the  origin  of  the  Hebrew  narrative.  They 
point  to  the  “food  of  life”  as  corresponding  to  the  “tree  of 
life”;  that  Adapa,  like  Adam,  had  gained  knowledge  that  was 
regarded  as  an  attribute  of  divinity,  etc.  However,  it  was  through 
disobedience,  in  order  to  become  like  God,  that  Adam  ate  of  the 
fruit ; while  Adapa  failed  to  obtain  eternal  life  owing  to  his  obedi- 
ence to  his  father’s  counsel  in  not  eating  of  it.  Others  have 
contended  that  Adapa  and  Adam  are  different  forms  of  the  same 
name ; while  still  others  hold  that  the  name  Adapa  is  the  same  as 
Alaparos4  (which  name  they  change  to  read  Adaparos),  the  second 
of  the  antediluvian  kings  handed  down  by  Berossus. 

The  present  writer  is  inclined  to  believe  that  Adapa  was  what 
the  text  informs  us,  namely  a ruler,  a “sage,”  a “man  of  Eridu” ; 
and  that  when  excavations  reveal  the  history  of  that  city  we  shall 
become  familiar  with  the  history  of  his  reign,  when  he  will  take 
his  place  with  Etana,  Gilgamesh,  and  others  in  the  list  of  kings 
or  patesis.  Owing  to  the  reference  to  the  deified  Gish-Zidda  and 
Tammuz  in  the  legend,  although  it  does  not  necessarily  follow,  in 
view  of  additions  made  in  the  later  redactions,  the  time  Adapa 
lived  may  have  been  subsequent  to  the  early  Erech  dynasty. 
Following  is  a transliteration  and  a translation  of  the  fragment 
now  in  the  Pierpont  Morgan  Library  Collection. 

. . . is-tum 

qi-bit-su  ki-ma  qi-bit  ilu  ....  lu- 

uz-na  rapastum(-tum)  u-sak-lil-su  u-su-rat  mdti  mu-lu-mu 
a-na  su-a-tu  ni-me-qa  iddin-su  napistam(-tam)  daritam(-tam)  ul 
iddin-su 

5 ina  u-me-su-ma  ina  sa-na-a-ti  si-na-a-ti  ab-kal-lum  mar  dlEridu 
dE-a  ki-ma  rid-di  ina  a-me-lu-ti  ib-ni-su 
ab-kal-lum  qi-bit-su  ma-am-man  ul  u-sam-sak 

4 The  name  Adapa  is  frequently  written  A-da-pad.  For  Alaparos  = Adapa  see 
Zimmern  EAT3,  522;  King  Schweich  Lectures  1916  144;  Langdon  Sumerian  Epic  p.  64; 
Ungnad  ATB  I 39  note  1.  This  is  a West  Semitic  name,  and  is  equivalent  to  Alap-Uru, 
perhaps  “Os  of  the  god  Uru”;  cf.  Im-me-ir-i-li  “Lamb  of  God,”  A-ga-al-Mardulc 
“Calf  of  Marduk”  BA  VI  5,  98;  see  Clay  Empire  of  the  Amorites  p.  78. 


Ill  FRAGMENT  OF  THE  ADAPA  LEGEND 


41 


li-e-um  At-ra-ha-si-sa  sa  dA-nun-na-ki  su-ma 
ib-bu  el-lam  qa-ti  pa-si-su  mus-te-’-u  par-si 
10  it-ti  nu-ha-tim-me  nu-lia-tim-mu-ta  ip-pu-us 
it-ti  nu-ha-tim-me  sa  ai  Eridu  Ki-Min. 
a-ka-la  u me-e  sa  aiEridu  u-mi-sam-ma  ip-pu-us 
[in]  a ga-ti-su  el-li-ti  pa-as-su-ra  i-rak-kas 
[■ in]a  ba-lu-us-su  pa-as-su-ra  id  ip-pat-tar 
15  elippa  u-ma-har  ba’iru-tam  da-ku-tam  sa  alEridu  ip-pu-us 
e-nu-mi-su  A-da-pa  mar  5lEridu 
[ma-]ru  dE-a  ina  ma-aia-li  a-ina  sa-da-di 
u-mi  sam-ma  si-ga-ar  &lEridu  is-sa-ar 
[ina  k]a-a-ri  el-li  Kar-Sin ( UD-SAR ) *> sahhitum  ir-kab-ma 
20  [sa-a-ru  i]-zi-qan-ni-ma  uelippi-su  iq-qi-lip-pu 
[ina  gi]  -mu-si-ma  if elippi-su  u-mah-har 
[.  . . .ina  ta]m-ti  ra-pa-as-ti 


His  word  like  the  command  of  the  god 

Wide  intelligence  he  perfected  in  him,  the  image  of  the  land 

Unto  him  he  gave  wisdom ; eternal  life  he  did  not  grant  him. 

5 In  those  days,  in  those  years,  the  sage,  the  man  of  Eridu, 

Ea,  made  him  like  a riddi  among  men ; 

A sage,  whose  command  no  one  could  oppose ; 

The  mighty  one,  the  Atra-hasis  of  the  Anunaki,  is  he ; 

Blameless,  clean  of  hands,  anointer,  observer  of  laws. 

10  With  the  bakers,  he  does  the  baking ; 

With  the  bakers  of  Eridu,  he  does  the  baking. 

The  food  and  water  of  Eridu  daily  he  provides. 

With  his  clean  hands  he  sets  (binds)  the  table; 

And  without  him,  the  table  is  not  cleared  (loosened). 

15  The  ship  he  steers ; he  does  the  fishing  and  hunting  for  Eridu. 

Then  Adapa,  the  Erecliian, 

The  son  of  Ea,  in  retiring  ( ?)  upon  the  bed, 

Daily  the  bolting  of  Eridu  gives  attention  to. 

In  the  pure  rampart  of  Kar-Nannar,  he  embarked  upon  the  sailing  ship. 
20  The  wind  blew,  and  his  ship  glided  along. 

With  the  oar  he  steered  his  ship. 

upon  the  wide  sea. 

Li.  3.  The  text  contains  the  sign  mu,  as  Scheil  originally  published, 
and  not  kid.  If  kul  is  correct,  it  is  a mistake  of  the  scribe. 
Li  17.  For  the  restoration  cf.  A-da-pa  ma-ar  dEa.  KB  VI  1,  94  :11. 


IV 


AN  EARLY  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMURRU 
AND  BABYLONIA. 

We  now  have  considerable  data  for  the  reconstruction  of 
a chapter  in  the  history  of  Babylonia,  and  incidentally  also  that  of 
Syria,  of  a very  early  period,  namely,  the  second  earliest  known 
post-diluvian  dynasty,  which  began  to  rule  about  or  prior  to  4000 
B.  C.1  (see  Dynastic  List  in  the  Appendix).  There  are  no  extant 
inscriptions  belonging-  to  this  period  that  have  as  yet  been  found, 
but  references  to  three  of  the  rulers  of  this  dynasty  and  their  con- 
temporaries are  frequently  made  in  later  inscriptions.  These  fur- 
nish us  with  material  which  make  it  possible  to  rewrite  a fairly 
complete  outline  of  the  history  covering  the  reigns  of  these  three 
important  kings,  Lugal  Marda,  Tammuz,  and  Gilgamesh. 

The  so-called  “Legend  of  the  Zu  bird,”  found  in  the  Library 
of  Ashurbanipal,  has  been  known  for  many  years.  It  acquaints 
us  with  the  fact  that  an  enemy  designated  as  “Zu  the  storm-bird” 
had  robbed  Enlil  of  Nippur  of  the  “tablets  of  destiny.”  This,  of 
course,  can  only  mean  his  supremacy  as  “lord  of  lands.”  But 
Zu,  whose  name  was  written  dIm-Dugudbu,  was  not  a bird,  nor  the 
“personification  of  some  solar  deity,”  but  a human  being,  an 
invader,  who  lived  in  an  inaccessible  distant  mountain. 

We  learn  that  Lugal  Marda,  “a  shepherd,”  came  to  the  rescue 
of  the  land ; by  some  kind  of  strategy,  succeeded  in  bringing  back 
the  “tablets  of  destiny”;  and  in  restoring  Enlil  to  his  position. 
For  this  act  he  is  in  time  credited  with  the  title:  “The  Enlil  of 
Ivullab,  Lugal  Marda,”  which  was  adopted  as  the  name  of  a star.11 
Knllab  was  a part  of  Erech,  and  is  doubtless  where  he  erected  his 
palace.  It  was  to  the  “distant  mountain  Sabu”  that  Lugal 

1 Ungnad  makes  the  date  of  the  beginning  of  the  third  known  dynasty,  that  of  I Ur, 
at  3927  B.C.  (ZDMG  1917,  166).  Meissner  put  it  at  about  3900  B.C.  ( Babylonien  und 
Assyrien  p.  23);  Weidner  4148  B.C.  (MV AG  1921  61);  Legrain,  4340  B.C.  ( Historical 
Fragments  11). 

laRawlinson,  46,  1:27. 


IV  EARLY  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMTJRRU 


43 


Marda  went,  in  pursuit  of  Zu.  Sabu  was  in  the  Lebanon  range.2 
In  other  words,  the  enemy  Zu  represented  an  Amorite  or  West 
Semitic  power,  which  doubtless  had  invaded  Babylonia.3  There 
can  be  little  doubt  but  that  the  so-called  “Legend  of  the  Zu  bird” 
was  intended  to  commemorate  the  overthrow  of  this  power  by 
Lugal  Marda.  The  writer  has  no  desire  to  identify  Zu  with  the 
power  whose  emblem  was  the  eagle,  but  this  identification  is  not 
improbable;  in  which  case  we  would  naturally  think  of  the  state 
represented  by  that  bird  in  the  Etana  Legend  (see  above),  and 
probably  also  in  the  fable  concerning  Gilgamesh  (see  below). 

Years  ago  it  was  conjectured  that  the  name  Nimrod  was  from 
Nu-Marad,  “man  of  Marad.”4  More  recently  another  has  sug- 
gested that  the  original  form  of  that  name  was  En-Marad,  standing 
for  Lugal-Marad  “King  of  Marad.”5  It  seems  that  he  may  have 
become  En  Marad  “High -priest  of  Marad,”  since  we  know  that 
Gilgamesh  was  En  Kullab  as  well  as  king.  We  must,  however, 
keep  in  mind  that  he  was  not  a native  of  Babylonia  for  he  was  a 
gurum  kurra  “offspring  of  the  mountains.”  If  this  “shepherd” 
king,  who  apparently  was  the  most  powerful  ruler  of  this  period, 
should  prove  to  be  Nimrod,  his  Old  Testament  title,  “the  mighty 
hunter,”  or  “ensnarer,”  may  have  reference  to  the  strategy  he 
employed  in  overthrowing  the  so-called  “Zu  bird.” 

Lugal  Marda  is  credited  with  having  ruled  longer  than  any  other 
of  his  dynasty.  The  fragment  of  an  historical  text  recently  pub- 
lished shows  that  he  conquered  Halma  (Aleppo)  and  Tidnum  in 
the  West;  and  it  can  be  assumed  that  he  ruled  the  West  land. 
This  would  give  sufficient  reason  why  his  name  should  have  been 
preserved  in  the  traditions  of  the  West.  Nimrod  is  the  only  name 
of  a Babylonian  ruler  of  the  early  period,  prior  to  Amraphel,  that 
is  preserved  in  the  Old  Testament.  Moreover,  his  own  habitat, 
or  that  of  his  ancestors,  may  originally  have  been  in  that  land, 
for  his  wife’s  name,  although  written  in  Sumerian  Nin-Sun,  was 

3 Jensen  KB  VI  1,  p.  578;  Zimmern  KAT3  p.  574,  note  3. 

3 A city  Su  was  identified  with  Mari,  C'T  25,  35r  24-27.  On  Su  as  an  element  in 
geographical  names,  cf.  Delitzsch  Wo  lag  das  Parodies  p.  234  ff.,  and  Empire  of  the 
Amorites  p.  177. 

4 Delitzsch  Wo  lag  das  Parodies,  p.  220. 

5Kraelimg,  in  Prince's  article,  JAOS  41,  201. 


44 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


Semitic,  namely,  Rimat-Belit;  and  her  father  bore  the  Amorite 
name  Semak-Ur  (Semachoros),  a name  like  the  Old  Testament 
Semak- Jaliu  (Semachiah).0  dNin-Sun,  who  became  the  mother  of 
Gilgamesh  (see  below),  bears  the  title  rimtu  sa  supuri  in  the  Gil- 
gamesh  Epic.7  This  title  of  the  queen  of  the  great  Lugal  Marda 
has  been  translated  by  some  scholars  “the  wild  cow  of  the  stall.” 
Since  the  ideogram  Sun  in  her  Sumerian  name  means  rimtu 
“beloved,”  would  not  rimtu  sa  supuri  “Beloved  of  the  fortified 
city,”  and  Rimat-Belit  “Beloved  of  Belit,”  be  somewhat  more 
appropriate  as  translations  for  the  title  and  name  of  the  queen 
mother  who  dwelt  in  her  magnificent  palace,  which  had  probably 
been  built  by  her  former  husband,  the  powerful  king  Lugal  Marda. 

Tammuz  followed  Lugal  Marda  as  king  of  Erech.  It  would 
seem  that  Babylonia  had  suffered  another  upheaval  when  Nin- 
Gish-Zidda,  his  father,  had  “ravaged  the  land”;  which  we  learn 
from  an  omen  (see  below).  Besides  this  fact  the  latter  is  known 
only  as  a deity,  with  his  habitat  at  Lagash.  Doubtless  he  had 
been  king  of  that  city. 

Tammuz  was  not  originally  “the  personification  of  the  son  of 
the  springtime,”  or  even  “the  personification  of  some  kind  of 
wood,”  as  has  been  said,  but,  as  the  new  dynastic  list  shows,  he 
was  a human  being,  and  the  fourth  king  of  this  early  Erech 
dynasty.8 

In  Babylonia  the  legends  and  hymns  concerning  Tammuz  and 
Ishtar  are  exceedingly  numerous.  Here  they  are  identified 
especially  with  the  city  of  Erech,  where  he  ruled.  From  the  many 
inscriptions  relating  to  the  cult  we  learn  that  in  the  fourth  month, 
which  was  named  Tammuz,  at  the  time  vegetation  began  to  decay, 
the  women  mourned  his  death.  From  the  cult  tablets  also  certain 
facts  are  ascertained  which  enable  us  to  know  something  about 
his  family  connections. 

The  cuneiform  inscriptions  inform  us  that  the  mother  of  Tam- 
muz was  named  Zertu  (which  name  is  also  written  Sirdu).9 

8 Empire  of  the  Amorites  p.  84.  The  name  is  written  Xevyxopos,  ZaKxopos,  Semachoros, 
Sacchoros,  etc. 

7 Jastrow-Clay  ¥OB  IV  3,  68:  236. 

8 Poebel  Historical  Texts  p.  88. 

0 Cf.  Zimmern  Her  Babylonische  Tammuz  712. 


IV  EARLY  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMURRU 


45 


Certainly  Zertn  seems  to  be  Semitic.  The  name  Tammuz  was 
reproduced  by  two  Sumerian  words  or  ideograms,  which  repre- 
sented the  pronunciation,  namely,  Dumu-Zi,  meaning  “faithful 
son”;  but  this  is  no  proof  that  Tammuz  was  a Sumerian.  In  fact 
the  meaning  of  the  ideograms  speaks  against  the  possibility  of  his 
being  a Sumerian;  “faithful  son”  would  not  be  appropriate  for 
a personal  name,  but  rather  as  an  epithet.  His  father’s  name, 
Nin-Gish-Zidda,  is  also  in  a Sumerian  dress ; but  this  very  prob- 
ably also  represents  a Semitic  name.  This  suggestion  is  based 
on  the  connection  of  his  son  Tammuz  with  the  West,  and  on  the 
name  of  his  wife  Zertu.  His  having  ruled  at  Lagash  would  fully 
account  for  his  name  being  written  in  Sumerian.  He  was  an 
invader,  a fact,  as  already  mentioned,  which  we  learn  from  the  omen 
texts. 

As  is  well  known,  there  are  many  myths  and  legends  that  have 
been  handed  down  concerning  Tammuz  (who  is  also  called  Adonis, 
etc.)  and  Ashirta  (also  called  Astarte,  Ashtaroth,  Ashtar,  Ishtar, 
Venus,  Aphrodite,  etc.).  The  cult  bearing  especially  upon  the 
death  and  resurrection  of  Tammuz  typified  the  decay  of  vegetation 
which  was  followed  by  the  long  dry  summer,  and  also  the  revivi- 
fying of  the  earth  in  the  spring.  While  the  legends  are  exceed- 
ingly widespread,  they  are  especially  identified  with  Syria.  Even 
in  the  Book  of  Ezekiel  we  learn  that  women  sat  in  the  temple 
weeping  for  Tammuz  (8:14).  Traces  of  the  cult  are  handed  down 
by  the  Classical  writers;  it  is  also  referred  to  by  Mandaic  and 
Syriac  writers  of  the  post  Biblical  period.  In  Syria  they  cluster 
especially  about  a vale  near  Aphaca,  at  present  represented  by 
the  modern  ’Afqa,  at  the  head  of  the  wild  romantic  wooded  gorge 
of  the  Adonis  river,  in  the  Lebanon  region,  midway  between  Byblos 
and  Ba  ’albek.  Here  tradition  says  the  mangled  body  of  the  hunter 
Tammuz  was  buried.  Here  are  to  be  found  many  ruined  monu- 
ments of  his  worship,  one  of  which  is  a great  temple  of  Astarte 
which  Constantine  destroyed.  Another  of  the  memorials  that 
have  kept  the  legends  alive  is  now  to  be  seen  at  Ghineh,  where 
reliefs  of  Tammuz  and  Ashirta  are  carved  upon  the  rocks.  Tam- 
muz is  there  portrayed  with  a spear  awaiting  the  wild  boar  by  which 
he  was  slain,  while  Ashirta,  who  mourned  for  him,  and  who,  the 


46 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  ■ RESEARCHES  V-3 


myth  tells  us,  descended  to  the  underworld  to  deliver  him  from 
death,  is  seated  near  by  in  a sorrowful  attitude. 

The  city,  Ha-A,  whence  Tammuz  came,  and  probably  also  his 
father,  has  not  been  located;10  but  connections  of  Tammuz  with 
Syria,  and  especially  the  passage  concerning  him  in  a lamentation 
hymn,  which  reads:  “at  the  sacred  cedar,  a distant  place  where  he 
was  born”  (or  “where  his  mother  bore  him”),  point  to  the  West  as 
his  birthplace.11  Extant  tradition  identifies  him  especially  with  the 
modern  Gebail,  the  ancient  Byblos.  Not  a few  passages,  however, 
in  the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  show  that  he  was  especially  worship- 
ped at  Hallab  (Aleppo).12  Certainly  it  would  seem  that  his  con- 
nection with  Ashirta  and  the  West  would  imply  that  he  was  a 
Semite,  rather  than  a Sumerian.  Moreover,  it  can  be  gathered 
from  several  passages  that  he  very  probably  met  a premature 
death  by  drowning,  while  associating,  in  the  Lebanon  region,  with 
his  contemporary  Ashirta,  who  was  called  Islitar  in  Babylonia. 
She  seems  to  have  been  a “Queen  of  Sheba”  or  a “Cleopatra”  of 
this  early  era,  with  her  seat  of  government  at  Hallab. 

As  already  mentioned,  the  chief  seat  of  the  cult  of  Ashirta,  the 
Ashtoreth  of  the  Old  Testament,  or  Islitar,  in  Babylonia  was  at 
Erecli ; but  Hallab  seems  to  have  been  her  home.  In  one  of  these 
Babylonian  lamentation  hymns  we  have  this  passage:  “The  queen 
of  Erecli  for  her  husband;  the  queen  of  Hallab  for  her  husband 
(wails).”  This  and  many  other  couplets  referring  to  Islitar  or  to 
Tammuz  and  Islitar  show  that  these  two  cities  were  intimately 
identified  with  each  other.  One  of  the  earliest  religious  texts  at 
present  known  tells  us  that  this  goddess  had  a shrine  at  Nippur 
and  that  she  was  from  the  land  of  Hallab.13  In  the  Gilgamesh 
Epic  when  she  proposes  to  Gilgamesh,  king  of  Erecli,  she  says : 
“Come,  Gilgamesh,  be  thou  my  spouse.  Present  me  with  thy  off- 
spring ; be  thou  my  husband,  let  me  be  thy  wife ; and  I will  set  thee 
in  a chariot,  etc.  . . Into  our  house,  under  the  fragrance  of  the 
cedar  tree,  enter.  And  when  thou  enterest  our  house  [they  shall 

10  Empire  of  the  Amorites  p.  83. 

11  CT  15,  26:5.  Tradition  in  the  West  makes  him  the  son  of  Cinyras  of  Cyprus. 

“Seheil  EA  8,  162,  4-5;  CT  15,  19:  4-7;  etc. 

13  Barton  Babylonian  Inscriptions  I,  col.  13:6.  See  also  Poebel  HGT  26:  19-20. 


IY  EARLY  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMURRU 


47 


place  thee  upon]  a throne;  they  shall  kiss  thy  feet.”  Gilgamesh, 
in  refusing  her  advances,  asked  her  what  she  had  done  with  her 
husband  Tammuz,  and  her  other  husbands ; whereupon  she  told 
the  god  Anu  that  Gilgamesh  had  upbraided  her  on  account  of  her 
evil  deeds ; and  she  asked  for  vengeance. 

While  a temple  at  Adah  was  dedicated  to  Ishtar,  as  the  brick 
stamp  of  Naram-Sin  shows,  and  she  was  worshipped  in  many  cities 
in  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  Erech  and  Hallab  stand  out  as  the  two 
cities  with  which  she  was  peculiarly  associated.  It  seems  to  the 
writer  that  Hallab  is  prominently  mentioned  in  these  cult  tablets 
because  that  city  is  the  home  of  her  worship.  And  it  is  probable 
that  it  is  she  to  whom  Hammurabi  refers  in  one  of  the  titles  he 
gives  himself,  namely,  migir  telitum  musaklil  teritum  sa  Hallab 
“the  beloved  of  the  exalted  one,  who  put  into  execution  the  laws 
of  Aleppo.”  Since  Hammurabi  was  an  Amorite,  it  is  not  improb- 
able that  the  body  of  his  Code  mainly  came  from  that  city. 

Certainly,  there  is  sufficient  evidence  to  show  that  the  Baby- 
lonians not  only  looked  upon  her  as  having  been  a mortal,  but 
also  upon  the  West  as  having  been  her  habitat.  Moreover,  since 
Lugal  Marda  and  his  queen  Nin-Sun,  Nin-Gish-Zidda  and  his  queen 
Zertu,  Tammuz,  Gilgamesh,  and  Humbaba  (see  below),  in  other 
words,  all  the  kings  and  queens  of  this  period,  were  worshipped 
as  deities,  some  of  whom  became  very  important  gods,  the  sug- 
gestion that  Ashirta,  called  Ishtar  in  Babylonia,  the  wife  of 
Tammuz,  had  also  been  a mortal,  seems  to  the  writer  to  be  perfectly 
reasonable.  Certainly  there  is  no  available  evidence  to  disprove 
this ; her  name  does  not  appear  in  the  nomenclature  prior  to  this 
period.  That  the  worship  of  this  deified  woman  and  her  consort 
should  have  become  so  widespread  was  doubtless  due  not  only 
to  the  nature  of  the  cult,  which  has  its  parallels  now  in  harvest 
festivals,  but  also  to  the  peculiarity  of  it  which  involved  disgrace- 
ful rites  that  appealed  to  the  sensuality  of  man.  Throughout 
Syria,  including  Phoenicia  and  Canaan,  the  unspeakable  abomina- 
tions of  her  licentious  cult  took  deep  root.  As  far  as  we  know  at 
present,  its  influence  was  not  so  general  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria, 
especially  in  the  early  period ; the  one  city  which  seems  to  stand 
out  with  peculiar  prominence  in  having  temple  prostitutes  is 


48 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


Ereck.  It  is  doubtless  this  fact  which  prompted  an  Assyriologist 
long-  ago  to  say  that  “Erecli  was  essentially  a Semitic  city.”14 
In  short,  in  consideration  of  all  that  we  know  of  Erecli ’s  contact 
with  the  West,  where  doubtless  Western  Semites  settled  at  a much 
earlier  period  than  in  Babylonia,  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand 
how  her  cult  migrated  to  the  great  alluvium  from  that  region, 
and  especially  as  this  “Queen  of  Hallab”  had  become  the  consort 
of  Tammuz. 

Gilgamesh  was  connected,  not  with  the  family  of  Tammuz,  but 
with  that  of  the  latter’s  predecessor.  He  was  the  son  of  Rimat- 
Belit,  the  wife  of  Lugal  Marda,  and  of  the  high  priest  of  Kullab, 
a part  of  Erech,  perhaps  the  Semitic  quarter  of  that  city. 

There  is  a fable  that  has  been  handed  down  by  Aelian  that  ought 
not  to  be  lost  sight  of  in  this  connection.15  From  it  we  gather  that 
Gilgamos  (Gilgamesh)  was  born  in  secret,  and  was  thrown  from 
the  acropolis  where  his  mother  was  imprisoned,  and  that  in  his 
fall  an  eagle  caught  him  and  carried  him  to  a garden  whose  keeper 
reared  him.  We  are  led  in  this  connection  to  inquire  what  is  the 
significance  of  the  legend;  why  is  the  eagle  here  introduced?  Has 
it  anything  to  do  with  the  power  represented  by  the  eagle  in  the 
Etana  legend,  and  perhaps  also  with  the  Zu  bird  in  the  Lugal 
Marda  epic? 

As  we  have  seen,  Tammuz  and  his  father  were  identified 

14  Gifford  Lectures  1903,  p.  342. 

15  The  fable  of  Aelian  ( de  Natura  Animalium  12,  21)  reads  as  follows:  It  is  charac- 
teristic of  animals  also  to  love  human  beings.  For  example,  an  eagle  brought  up  a baby. 
I wish  to  tell  the  whole  story,  that  it  may  bear  witness  to  my  statement.  When  Semach- 
oros  (Seuechoros)  reigned  over  the  Babylonians,  the  Chaldaeans  said  that  the  son  of  his 
daughter  would  take  the  kingdom  away  from  the  grandfather.  He  was  alarmed  at  this, 
and  if  I may  speak  somewhat  jocularly,  he  became  an  Acrisius  to  the  girl,  for  he  guarded 
her  very  strenuously.  But,  without  his  knowledge — for  fate  was  stronger  than  the  Baby- 
lonian— the  girl  was  made  a mother  by  a man  of  low  degree,  and  bore  a child.  Her 
guards,  in  fear  of  the  king,  threw  it  from  the  acropolis;  for  it  was  there  that  the  afore- 
said girl  was  imprisoned.  Well,  an  eagle  very  quickly  saw  the  child’s  fall,  and  before 
it  was  dashed  upon  the  earth  got  underneath  it  and  received  it  upon  his  back.  Taking 
it  to  a garden,  he  set  it  down  very  cautiously.  The  caretaker  of  the  place,  seeing  the 
pretty  child,  was  fond  of  it  and  reared  it;  it  was  called  Gilgamos,  and  reigned  over  the 
Babylonians.  If  anybody  thinks  this  a fable,  I admit  that  on  testing  it  I thought  lightly 
of  its  validity  myself.  But  I am  told  that  Achaemenes,  the  Persian,  from  whom  the 
Persian  nobility  descends,  was  an  eagle ’s  nursling.  ( Translated  from  the  Greek  by  Prof. 
A.  M.  Harmon.) 


IV  EARLY  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMURRU 


49 


with  the  emblem  of  the  serpent.  Are  we  to  understand  that 
perhaps  Gilgamesh,  the  son  of  the  former  queen,  Rimat-Belit, 
when  born,  perhaps  during  the  reign  of  Tammuz,  was  secretly 
carried  away  and  reared  in  the  land  which  the  eagle  represents? 
When  Rimat-Belit  said  to  her  son  concerning  Engidu,  “Some  one, 

0 Gilgamesh,  who  like  thee  in  the  field  was  born,  and  the  moun- 
tain has  reared,  thou  wilt  see”,16 — does  this  imply  such  an  order 
of  events!  What  was  the  affinity  that  was  responsible  for  Gil- 
gamesh and  Engidu  being  drawn  together?  We  read  in  the  Nin- 
evite  version  these  words:  “Ere  thou  earnest  down  from  the 
mountain,  Gilgamesh  beheld  thee  in  a dream.”  When  the 
expedition  to  the  West  was  being  planned,  Engidu  said:  “Know, 
my  friend,  when  I moved  about  with  the  cattle  in  the  mountains, 

1 penetrated  to  the  distance  of  a double  measure  into  the  heart 
of  the  cedar  forest  where  Humbaba  lived.”  He  knew  “the  paths 
through  the  cedar  forest” ; and  it  seems  reasonable  to  ask  whether 
the  nation,  whence  he  came,  is  not  to  be  identified  with  the  power 
whose  emblem  was  the  eagle. 

We  are  led  to  believe  from  the  Epic  of  Gilgamesh  that  in  the 
early  part  of  his  career,  Erech  was  subservient  to  another  throne, 
and  we  inquire  whether  it  can  be  ascertained  what  power  had 
humiliated  Babylonia  at  this  time. 

The  character  Humbaba  in  the  Epic  has  not  been  regarded  as 
historical.  He  has  been  looked  upon  as  a mythical  personage 
who  played  a part  in  a nature  myth  which  had  been  woven  into 
the  exploits  of  Gilgamesh.  Engidu  is  another  mythical  character 
who  has  been  regarded  as  “a  type  of  primaeval  man.”  The 
stronghold  of  Humbaba,  with  whom  Gilgamesh  fought,  as  related 
in  the  epic,  has  in  the  past  generally  been  located  in  Elam;  and 
it  has  also  been  generally  held  that  his  name  is  Elamitic.  These 
conclusions  have  not  rested  upon  the  fact  that  cedar  forests  were 
known  to  have  existed  in  Elam;  for  all  the  numerous  references 
to  cedars  in  the  inscriptions  have  been  understood  to  refer  to  the 
Lebanon  and  Amanus  ranges. 

The  conclusions  that  Humbaba  was  Elamitic,  and  that  the  scenes 
took  place  in  Elam  rested  solely  upon  the  slight  resemblance  of 

16  See  Jastrow-Clay  YOU  IV  3,  62:  17. 


50 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


the  name  Humbaba  to  that  of  the  well  known  Elamite  god  Humba, 
whose  name  was  variously  written  Humman,  Humba,  Humban, 
Umman,  Umba,  etc.  The  identification  of  Humbaba  with  this 
deity  was  also  one  of  the  reasons  why  emphasis  was  placed  upon 
the  Gilgamesh  Epic  being  based  upon  a foundation  of  myth,  being 
in  part  astral,  and  in  part  a nature  myth.  A comparison  of  the 
name  was  made  with  Ivombabos  of  the  Legend  of  Lucian,  concern- 
ing the  building  of  the  temple  at  Hierapolis ; but  the  name  contin- 
ued to  be  identified  with  the  Elamite  god.17  Others  realized  that 
the  description  of  the  cedars  seemed  to  suggest  the  districts  in 
the  West;  nevertheless  the  forests  were  considered  to  be  in 
Elam.18  In  the  light  of  what  follows,  however,  this  must  be 
abandoned. 

In  the  omen  literature  there  is  a word  which  has  been  read 
hu-pi-pi.  It  occurs  several  times,  and  has  been  generally  regarded 
to  be  the  name  of  an  animal;  it  has  even  been  translated  “hyena.”19 
The  same  word  occurs  as  a personal  name  in  the  temple  adminis- 
trative archives  of  the  early  period.  This  word,  strange  to  say, 
has  also  been  regarded  as  an  Elamitic  loan-word,  but  on  the  basis 
of  the  reduplication  of  the  final  consonant.20 

A few  years  ago  an  Amorite  Name- Syllabary  was  published 
which  had  been  excavated  by  Haynes  at  Nippur,  and  which  con- 
tained the  personal  name  Hu-pi-pi.-1  More  recently  there  was 
discovered  in  the  Yale  tablet  of  the  old  Babylonian  version  of  the 
Gilgamesh  Epic,  that  the  familiar  name  Humbaba,  or  Hubaba, 
is  written  exactly  the  same,  namely  Hu-PI-PI.  Since  the  sign 
PI  has  also  the  value  tea,  and  iva  and  ba  in  this  period  inter- 
change, the  correct  reading  of  the  word  in  the  omen  texts,  and  of 
the  personal  name,  was  not  Hu-pi-pi,  but  it  was  Hu-wa-wa;  and 
this  reproduced  the  pronunciation  of  Hu-ba-ba. 

It  followed  from  this  discovery  that  the  name  was  the  same  as 
that  of  Hobab,  the  father-in-law  of  Moses  (Num.  10:29);  and 

17  Ungnad-Gressmann  Das  Gilgamesch-Epos  p.  77. 

18  Ungnad-Gressmann  ibidem  p.  111. 

18  Holma  Namen  der  Korperteile  p.  151,  note  2. 

al>Weidner  OLZ  17,  p.  502. 

31  Chiera  Lists  of  Personal  Names  p.  122. 


IV  EARLY  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMURRU 


51 


since  it  unquestionably  was  Amorite  or  West  Semitic,  there  could 
be  little  doubt  but  that  it  was  the  same  as  Kombabos  of  Lucian.22 
Furthermore,  it  naturally  followed  that  the  reference  to  the 
conflict  between  Gilgamesh  of  Erech  and  Hubaba  or  Humbaba  of 
the  West  was  an  allusion  to  an  important  historical  event  of  the 
early  period.23  Additional  light  is  now  thrown  upon  the  situation 
from  a passage  in  an  omen  text  in  the  Pierpont  Morgan  Collection 
(see  below),  which  fully  substantiates  the  inferences  which  the 
writer  made. 

It  is  a well  established  idea  that  the  definite  historical  allusions 
to  which  omens  refer,  were  originally  supplied  by  actual  events 
that  followed  the  appearance  of  the  prognosticating  signs  which 
the  priests  had  observed.  Following  are  a few  of  the  omens 
referring  to  historical  events : 

“If  the  foetus  is  male  and  female  (a  monstrosity),  it  is  the  omen 
of  Bau-ellit,  who  ruled  the  land;  the  king’s  country  will  be 
seized.”24  It  is  now  definitely  known  that  this  woman,  Bau-ellit, 
overthrew  the  rule  of  Akshak,  and  established  the  fourth  dynasty 
of  Kish. 

No  less  than  eleven  historical  omens  are  known  which  bear  upon 
Sargon’s  reign.  In  one  of  them  the  expression  “he  possessed 
no  foe  nor  rival,”  meaning  that  he  had  subdued  the  neighboring 
lands,  is  fully  borne  out  by  many  discoveries. 

There  are  two  well  known  omens  relating  to  Naram-Sin,  one 
referring  to  his  overthrow  of  Apirak,  and  the  other  to  his  conquest 
of  Magan.  The  former  is  summarized  in  the  eighteenth  line  in  the 
Morgan  text,  which  reads:  “If  the  tirani  is  like  a woolen  rope, 
it  is  the  omen  of  Naram-Sin,  who  overthrew  Apirak  in  arms.” 
This  is  fully  confirmed  by  the  chronicles  of  Babylonian  kings.25 

Another  omen  referring  to  the  founder  of  a dynasty  reads: 
“If  a sheep  gives  birth  to  an  ox,  etc.,  it  is  the  omen  of  Ishbi-Urra, 
who  did  not  have  a rival.  ”26  We  now  have  historical  data  to  show 

22 It  is  not  improbable  that  Lucian’s  tradition  contains  a reflection  of  the  ancient 
Humbaba,  who  may  have  built  or  rebuilt  the  temple. 

23  Empire  of  the  Amorites  p.  88. 

24  CT  28,  6 : 1 f. 

28  King  Chronicles  I,  32  ff . 

29  CT  27,  22:  21. 


52 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  ■ RESEARCHES  V-3 


that  this  Amorite,  from  the  city  of  Mari,  overthrew  the  third 
dynasty  of  Ur,  and  became  the  founder  of  the  Nisin  dynasty.27 
These  examples  suffice  to  show  that  omens  of  this  character 
unquestionably  refer  to  historical  events,  and  notably  to  great 
conquerors  who  overthrew  dynasties,  as  well  as  to  subjugating 
enemies. 

The  two  omens  referring  to  Huwawa  have  been  known  for  some 
time ; one  reads : “ If  a woman  give  birth  to  the  face  of  Huwawa ; 
the  king  and  his  sons  will  leave  the  city.”28  The  other  is:  “If  a 
sheep  bear  a lion,  and  it  has  the  face  of  Huwawa,  the  prince  will 
not  have  a rival;  he  will  destroy  the  land  of  the  enemy.”29  In 
an  omen  text  of  the  Pierpont  Morgan  Collection  (BRM  IV,  13), 
the  following  is  found  in  line  65:  “If  the  tirani  is  like  the  face 
of  dHum-Hum,  a usurper  of  the  land  will  rule  the  world.”  A 
fragment  in  the  British  Museum  duplicates  the  first  part  of  six 
consecutive  lines  of  this  text  (i.  e.,  63  to  68),  the  third  of  which 
reads:  “If  the  tirani  is  like  the  face  of  Hum-ba-ba,'n  etc.,30  show- 
ing that  the  ideogram  dHum-Hum  is  to  be  read  Humbaba  or 
Huwawa.  These  omens  can  only  be  interpreted  as  meaning  that 
Humbaba  was  a usurper,  who  like  Bau-ellit,  Sargon,  and  Islibi- 
Urra,  overthrew  a dynasty,  conquered  the  lands,  and  was  without 
a rival.  The  third  interprets  the  other  two ; together  they  clearly 
indicate  that  Humbaba  or  Huwawa  had  been  a mighty  conqueror, 
and  that  he  had  doubtless  subjugated  Babylonia. 

What  the  characteristic  feature  was  which  enabled  the  priests 
to  associate  the  omen-sign  with  Huwawa  is  not  clear.  Jastrow 
has  shown  that  Huwawa  in  omens  is  contrasted  with  tigru 
“dwarf.”31  The  character  of  Huwawa  or  Humbaba  is  described 
in  the  Gilgamesli  Epic  as  dapini  “terrible  one,”  “whose  roar  is 
a deluge,  whose  mouth  is  fire,  whose  breath  is  death.  ’ ’ The  elders 
in  their  effort  to  dissuade  Gilgamesh  from  attempting  to  over- 
throw him,  asked:  who  has  ever  penetrated  to  his  dwelling  place 


27  Empire  of  the  Amorites  p.  107. 

23  CT  27,  3:  17;  4:  9;  and  6:  4. 

29  CT  27,  21:  8.  See  also  CT  28,  14:  12. 
50  Boissier  Divination  p.  91. 

31  Beligion  Babyloniens  II,  913  f. 


Cf.  also  Hu-um-ba-bi-tu  CT  27,  4:  8. 


IV  EARLY  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMURRU 


53 


or  capital  in  the  heart  of  the  cedar  forest?  Who  has  ever  opposed 
his  weapon?  In  short,  the  references  to  the  despot  seem  to  convey 
the  idea  that  he  was  a powerful  personage. 

Gilgamesh  figures  also  in  the  divination  texts ; among  which 
the  following  has  been  found:  “If  a woman  give  birth,  and  the 
(child)  has  the  head  of  a snake;  (it  is)  the  omen  of  Nin-Gisli- 
Zidda  who  ravaged  the  land;  (and  it  is)  the  omen  of  Gilgamesh 
who  ruled  the  land,  and  who  became  ‘the  king  of  hosts’  in  the 
land.”32  It  is  clear  from  the  Gilgamesh  Epic  that  Gilgamesh  in 
the  early  part  of  his  reign  was  subservient  to  another,  and  that  he 
was  able  to  overthrow  the  enemy. 

We  learn  therefore  from  the  omen  texts  that  one  named 
Humbaba,  who  had  usurped  the  throne  of  the  West,  had  conquered 
the  land;  and  we  learn  from  the  Gilgamesh  Epic  that  about  this 
time  a personage  named  Engidu,  which  Sumerian  name  was  very 
probably  originally  Semitic,  Ea-tabu  or  Ba‘  al-tob,  appeared  on 
the  scene  and  became  the  ally  of  Gilgamesh.  Possibly  we  may 
later  ascertain  that  the  power  which  Humbaba  represented  was 
designated  by  the  eagle.  At  present,  however,  this  can  only  be 
regarded  as  conjectural.  Moreover,  the  epic  bearing  the  name 
of  Gilgamesh  was  originally  written  to  commemorate  the  over- 
throw of  Humbaba,  which  when  accomplished  doubtless  enabled 
Gilgamesh  to  become  the  ‘king  of  hosts.’ 

The  fact  that  Humbaba,  who  bears  an  Amorite  name,  is  a histori- 
cal personage,  that  he  lived  in  a cedar  district  of  the  West,  and  that 
he  humiliated  Babylonia  at  the  time  of  Gilgamesh,  about  4000 
B.  C.,  prove  conclusively  the  writer’s  contentions  concerning  the 
antiquity  of  the  Amorite  civilization. 

Among  the  historical  documents  found  at  Nippur,  there  has  come 
to  light  more  than  one  effort  on  the  part  of  ancient  scribes,  who 
lived  prior  to  the  time  of  Abraham,  to  give  a history  of  the  world, 
beginning  with  a creation  story,  the  building  of  cities,  a deluge 
story,  and  dynastic  lists  extending  to  the  time  the  tablets  were 
written.  Unfortunately  nearly  all  tablets  of  this  period  have  come 
down  to  us  in  a fragmentary  condition.  They,  however,  forcibly 
remind  us  of  the  efforts  of  the  Biblical  writer ; and  give  us  the  know- 

32  CT  27,  1:  8-9. 


54 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


ledge  that  the  Babylonians  also  had  outline  histories  of  man  from 
the  beginning.  Moreover,  the  knowledge  that  the  Babylonians  had 
several  creation  myths,  and  more  than  one  version  of  the  deluge, 
parallels  what  the  literary  analysis  of  the  Pentateuch  had  long 
ago  determined,  namely  that  in  the  Old  Testament  there  are  two 
creation  stories  and  two  of  the  flood,  as  well  as  other  duplicate 
traditions,  such  as  are  found  in  Babylonian  libraries.  And 
further,  the  discovery  that  the  Atra-hasis  Epic  is  of  Amorite 
origin  gives  us  another  West  Semitic  or  Hebrew  tradition  of  the 
deluge. 

There  would  seem  to  be  little  doubt  that  the  names  of  the  patri- 
archs, which  are  given  in  the  Old  Testament,  belong  to  the  Hebrew 
or  the  Aramaean  branch  of  the  Semitic  race ; and  that  other  lists 
of  contemporaneous  rulers  among  the  Semites  were  also  in  exist- 
ence. The  antediluvian  list  of  kings  handed  down  by  Berossus 
is  one  of  these.  All  kinds  of  efforts  have  been  made  to  show  that 
the  Hebrew  list  is  taken  from  this  one ; but  they  have  utterly  failed. 
They  have  in  common  only  one  thing,  that  is  the  tenth  antediluvian 
in  each  list  is  a hero  of  the  flood,  in  one  case  Noah,  and  in  the  other 
Atra-hasis.  If  it  should  be  found  that  the  Am orit.es  of  Mesopo- 
tamia used  clay  for  their  writing  material  in  the  early  period,  it 
is  highly  probable  that  in  time  similar  lists  will  be  found.  Cer- 
tainly the  discoveries  made  in  Babylonia  would  indicate  that  lists  of 
rulers  and  similar  traditions  existed  in  the  library  of  every  great 
temple. 

The  second  important  result  of  these  discoveries  is  the  reali- 
zation of  the  fact  that  underlying  the  Old  Testament  outline  of 
history,  as  well  as  these  chronicles  of  the  Babylonians,  there  is 
real  history.  The  claim  that  the  Biblical  patriarchs  and  the  early 
kings  of  Babylonia  are  the  creation  of  a fiction  writer,  or  belong 
to  mythology,  has  no  support  from  the  discoveries  made  in  the 
past  decade.  In  every  instance  in  which  archaeology  has  thrown 
light  upon  the  subject,  we  find  that  we  have  historical  characters 
to  deal  with.  There  may  be  only  a few  names  given,  and  they 
may  be  made  to  represent  a period  which  actually  covered  many 
millenniums  of  history,  nevertheless,  there  are  reasons  for  believ- 
ing that  the  names  represent  actual  persons  who  lived.  Man 


IV  EAELY  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMURRU 


55 


may  be  depicted  as  riding  to  heaven  on  the  back  of  an  eagle,  turn- 
ing into  a pillar  of  salt,  fighting  with  an  angel,  or  living  in  a 
whale’s  belly  for  three  days,  but  nevertheless  we  have  reasons  to 
believe  that  their  names  represent  historical  characters.  Again 
and  again  have  we  had  the  experience  of  transferring  names  from 
what  has  been  regarded  as  the  realm  of  mythology,  or  what  has 
been  regarded  as  the  creation  of  an  ancient  fiction  writer,  to  the 
pages  of  history.  The  discoveries  of  the  past  decades  have  played 
such  an  important  role  in  this  connection  that  it  is  now  possible 
to  assert  that  it  is  impossible  for  those  scholars  who  relegate  to 
the  region  of  myth  certain  Biblical  or  Babylonian  characters  to 
substantiate  their  position.  In  short,  as  already  stated,  it  cannot 
be  shown  from  the  literature  of  the  ancients  that  in  the  Semitic 
world  a single  god  ever  became  a mortal.  We  find  a process 
analogous  to  what  took  place  in  Greece  and  elsewhere ; epics  and 
traditions  were  directly  based  upon  historical  personages;  more- 
over, many  deities  have  already  turned  out  to  be  deified  persons, 
especially  kings. 

Prior  to  1909,  when  the  present  writer  first  contested  this 
general  position,  it  had  been  demonstrated  that  the  Hammurabi 
dynasty  was  Amorite,  with  the  understanding,  however,  that  Amor- 
ites  were  Arabs.  Those  who  held  the  view  that  the  periodic  Arab 
migrations  accounted  for  the  peoples  in  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  and 
Babylonia,  maintained  that  an  early  wave  furnished  Babylonia 
with  Semites  late  in  the  fourth  millennium  B.  C.,  that  a second 
wave  between  2400  and  2100  B.  C.  furnished  Syria  and  Mesopo- 
tamia with  Amorites;  that  between  1500  and  1300  a third  wave 
furnished  Palestine  and  adjacent  lands  with  Aramaeans  and 
Hebrews;  and  that  in  the  seventh  century  of  the  Christian  era, 
Western  Asia  and  Europe  received  Arabs,  namely  Mohammedans. 
Another  who  accepted  and  promulgated  the  theory  completed  the 
thousand  year  “spilling  over”  process  by  inserting  another  wave 
from  the  fifth  century  B.  C.,  when  Nabataeans  moved  upon  Petra ; 
in  short,  these  periodical  outbursts  or  “sporadic  waves  of  hungry 
tribesmen,”  occurring  about  every  thousand  years  when  Arabia 
became  so  full  that  this  spitting  out  process  was  necessary, 
furnished  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  and  Babylonia  with  its  inhabitants. 


56 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


Iii  Amurru  the  Home  of  the  Northern  Semites  (1909),  and 
more  recently  in  The  Empire  of  the  Amorites  (1919),  the  writer 
contested  this  theory,  as  accepted  by  many  adherents,  largely  on 
the  basis  of  a study  of  the  nomenclature  found  in  the  Babylonian 
inscriptions.  Hundreds  of  data  were  offered  in  proof  of  the  new 
position,  some  of  which  were  facts,  others  were  based  upon  differ- 
ent interpretations,  or  upon  what  seemed  to  be  implied,  and,  as 
would  be  expected,  upon  suggestions  which  had  no  direct  bear- 
ing upon  the  thesis,  but  which  seemed  to  throw  light  upon  the 
historical  background  of  these  peoples.  While  admitting  that 
Arabs  have  in  all  periods  filtered  into  these  lands,  the  writer 
contends  that  this  wave  theory  is  baseless;  and  he  has  presented 
many  discoveries  to  show  that  the  civilization  of  Syria  and 
Mesopotamia,  that  is,  the  land  of  the  Amorites,  synchronized  with 
the  earliest  known  in  Babylonia  and  Egypt.  Some  additional 
discoveries  were  presented  in  an  article  on  the  Antiquity  of  Baby- 
lonian Civilization  published  in  1921,  which  are  augmented  in 
the  present  treatise.  In  short,  while  an  abundance  of  material 
has  been  discovered  during  the  past  decade  which  permits  of  the 
gradual  reconstruction  of  the  history  of  Amurru,  and  which  tends 
to  confirm  the  writer’s  position,  he  knows  of  nothing  that  has  come 
to  light  which  supports  the  contested  theories. 

In  conclusion,  the  writer’s  position  is  summarized  in  the  follow- 
ing two  points,  both  of  which  imply  the  negation  of  prevailing 
theories. 

First,  while  Arabs  have  always  filtered  into  adjacent  lands  there 
is  no  basis  for  the  theory  that  within  the  period  covered  by  the 
written  history  of  man,  the  inhabitants  of  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  and 
Babylonia  were  dependent  upon  Arabia  for  their  Semites  and  their 
culture ; on  the  contrary,  the  Semites  in  Syria  and  Mesopotamia 
had  an  indigenous  existence  and  civilization  which  synchronizes 
with  the  earliest  known  in  Babylonia  and  Egypt. 

Second,  that  the  position  of  the  Pan-Babylonists,  namely  that 
Israel’s  culture  and  religion  was  of  Babylonian  origin,  is  without 
foundation,  for  the  culture  is  indigenous,  excepting  the  interchange 
of  cultural  elements  which  ordinarily  takes  place  between  neighbor- 
ing peoples ; on  the  contrary,  the  Semites  of  Babylonia  came  into 


IV  EARLY  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  AMURRU 


57 


the  great  alluvium  pre-eminently  from  Syria  and  Mesopotamia, 
as  is  echoed  in  the  tradition  “and  it  came  to  pass  as  they  jour- 
neyed eastward  that  they  found  a plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar;” 
and  they  brought  with  them  their  religion  and  culture  which, 
under  the  influence  of  the  Sumerians,  resulted  in  what  we  call 
Akkadian  or  Semitic-Babylonian.  These  two  points  summarize 
the  writer’s  position. 


APPENDIX. 


A.  AN  EARLY  VERSION  OF  THE  ATRA-HASIS  EPIC.1 


Transliteration.  Translation. 

Column  I. 


1 [li]-’  (?)-bi-il  [ri]-ig-[ma-si-i]n  bal-ti- 

a(?) 

ma-tum  ir-ta-bi-is  ni-[su  im]-ti-da 

[m]a-tum  ki-ma  li-i  i-sa-ab-bu 
[i-na]  hu-bu-ri-si-na  i-lu  it-ta-ah-da-ar 

5 [ ] is-te-me  ri-gi-im- si-in 

[iz]-za-kar  a-na  ra-bu-tim 

iq-ta-ab-ta  ri-gi-im  a-wi-lu-ti 


I will  bring  (?)  their  clamor  (?) 

The  land  had  become  great ; the  people 
had  multiplied. 

The  land  like  a bull  had  become  satiated. 
[In] their  assemblage  God  was  absent. 

heard  their  clamor. 

He  said  to  the  great  gods  ( ? ) , 

Those  observing  the  clamor  of  men, 


1 Scheil  Recueil  de  Travaux  20  55ff;  Jensen  Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothelc  VI  1 288  ff ; 
Dhorme  Choix  de  Textes  Religieux  Assyro-Babyloniens  120ff;  Ungnad  Altorientalische  Texte 
und  Bilder  I 57f ; and  Rogers  Cuneiform  Parallels  104ff. 


A,  4.  The  word  fyu-bu-ri-si-na,  which  occurs  several  times  in  the  redaction,  was  left  untrans- 
lated by  all  except  Dhorme,  who  rendered  it  ‘ ‘ totalite.  ’ ’ The  root  of  this  word  in  Hebrew 
and  Aramaic  means  “to  join,  to  associate;  ” cf.  “Ql"!  “ company,  association ; ” “Ql”!  “asso- 

" T 

ciate,  companion.  ’ ’ The  corresponding  word  in  Babylonian  was  puljru,  which  the  redactor 
employed  in  his  paraphrases. 

A,  4.  The  only  root  in  Hebrew  or  Aramaic  to  which  it-ta-alq-da-ar  could  belong  is  “ny 
“to  be  absent,  lacking. ’ ’ I am  indebted  to  Professor  Torrey  for  this  identification.  It  is 
probable  that  a redactor  did  not  understand  the  word,  for  he  changed  the  thought  in  his  para- 
phrase, and  used  a word  similar  in  appearance,  eli  rigmesina  ittadir  “concerning  their  clamor 
he  was  troubled.” 

A,  5.  dEn-lil  is  probably  to  be  restored  (see  note  under  B,  III: 4).  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  one  of  the  three  passages  (see  also  B,  111:37)  does  not  preserve  the  name  intact. 

A,  6.  The  words  el{?)-li  ra-bu-tim  are  replaced  in  the  late  redaction  by  ana  ilani  mdre-su 
“to  the  gods,  his  children”  (see  B,  III: 5). 

A,  7.  Iq-ta-ab-ta,  written  [iq] -tab-ta-ma  in  the  redaction  (B,  III: 6),  seems  to  be  from 
the  root  ipy  ‘ 1 to  trace,  investigate,  search  out.  ” It  is  found  in  all  the  Semitic  languages 


except  Akkadian.  In  Hebrew  it  especially  means  “to  follow  at  the  heel.”  Cf.  the  form 
i-sa-ba-ta  (B,  III: 3),  which  was  used  in  the  redactor’s  paraphrase. 


APPENDIX-EARLY  VERSION  OF  ATRA-HASIS  EPIC 


59 


i-na  ku-bu-ri-si-na  iz-za-kar  ma-si-it-ta 

[lip-par] -sa  a-na  ni-si  te-i-na 

10  [i-na-sa-da] -ti-si-na  li-’-zu  sa-am-mu 

su  dAdad  li-sa-aq-ti-il 

hi-bi-is  -a  [li]-il-li-ka 

[ia  is-sa-a  me-li  na]-aq-bi 
[ li]  -il-li-ik  sa-ru 
15  [na]-ag-bi-ra  li-e-ir-ri 


In  their  assemblage  he  spoke  of  desola- 
tions. 

Let  the  fig  tree  for  the  people  be  [cut 

off]. 

[In]  their  [fields],  let  the  plant  become 
a weed  ( ? ) 

the  sheep  let  Adad  destroy. 

Injured.  [The  fountains  of  the  deep] 
let  not  flow. 

[That  the  flood  rise  not  at  the  sojurce. 

Let  the  wind  blow. 

Let  it  drive  mightily. 


A,  8.  The  root  of  ma-si-it-ta  is  the  Hebrew  KW  “ to  devastate,  to  be  desolate,”  a root 
which  is  parallel  in  meaning  to  ; ef.  Psalm  74.3,  and  also  the  noun 

as  well  as  nw  “ desolation,”  Is.24:12.  Compare  wi-si-tu  in  the  redactor’s  paraphrase 
? : 

(B,  III: 3),  which  is  somewhat  similar  in  meaning.  In  V R 31:30  mas-si-ti  is  parallel  to 
ni-si-tum.  These  have  been  construed  as  meaning  “to  forget”  from  the  Akkadian  masu,  see 
Delitzseh  HWB  486a.  However,  it  must  be  said  that  there  is  a possibility  of  masittu  being 
identified  with  masadu  ‘ ‘ to  press,  oppress,  strike.  ’ ’ 

A,  9.  This  is  the  Amorite  word  rmTi  meaning  ‘ ‘ fig  tree  ; ” in  the  redaction  the 

Akkadian  titu  is  used  (see  also  Chap.  I). 

A,  10.  The  root  of  li-’-zu  is  not  known  to  the  writer.  In  B,  111:43  the  same  expression 
is  found  where  li-me-su  is  used;  see  also  e-me-su  B,  111:53.  It  would  appear  that  the  root  is 
not  amasu  “to  be  little,  wanting, ’ ’ but  masu  or  wasu.  The  context  suggests  that  perhaps  the 
verb  was  a denominative,  meaning  something  like  ‘ ‘ to  become  weeds,  thorns ; ” cf . seru  palJcu 
I'll  id  idranu  (B,  1X1:4)  “let  the  wide  field  bear  weeds(?) ; ” which  the  gloss  probably  indicates 
was  not  understood  by  the  scribe  of  the  late  text  (see  below).  The  writer  tentatively  restores 
[i-na  sarda]-ti-si-na  instead  of  Icarsisina  as  in  the  redaction,  because  he  feels  the 

V T 

redactor  In  writing  the  paraphrase  did  not  understand  the  passage. 

A,  11.  Seheil  originally  regarded  the  root  of  li-sa-aq-ti-il  as  meaning  “to  kill;”  this  is 
Hebrew.  The  form  lisaqtil  should  be  noted.  As  already  stated,  similar  forms  are  found  in 
the  text,  like  lisaznin,  etc. 

A,  12.  The  words  which  appeared  in  the  line  before  the  text  was  injured  were  perhaps  the 
Hebrew  □inn  written  e-na-at  ta-ma-ti  “fountains  of  the  deep.”  Since  the 

parallel  passage  B,  111:45  has  li-is-sa-Tcvr,  probably  this  word  stood  also  in  the  original  text 
instead  of  [Wj-il-li-Tca,  which  would  give  us  a line  parallel  to  Gen.  8:2,  where  the  same  verb 
is  used. 

A,  13.  This  passage  is  restored  with  the  help  of  the  late  text,  B,  111:45  and  55. 

A,  15.  [na]-ag-bi-ra  seems  also  to  be  Amorite  from  the  root  ; cf.  *VOJ!  “mighty.” 
A,  15.  The  root  of  li-e-ir-ri  is  to  be  found  in  the  Hebrew  m»  “ to  throw,  hurl.”  It  has 
been  suggested  by  Professor  Torrey  that  this  may  be  the  root  of  ur-ru-u  sa  sari,  see  Delitzseh 
HWB  p.  130b. 


60 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


[ Mr]  -bi-e-ium  li-im-ta-an-ni-ma 
[zu-un-nu  i-na  same]  (-e)  ia  it-tu-uk 
[li-su]-ur  eqlu  is-bi-ki-su 
[ li-ni-  ’ ] ir-ta  sa  dNisaba 


Let  the  clouds  be  held  back,  that 
[Rain  from  the  heav]ens  pour  not  forth. 
Let  the  field  withhold  its  fertility. 

[Let  a change  come  over]  the  bosom  of 
Nisaba. 


Column  II. 


li- 

li-ba-as 

li-sa-aq-ti-il ga-az 

70  i-na  se-ri-im  ib-ba-ra  li-sa-az-[ni-in ] 

li-is-ta-ar-ri-iq  i-na  mu-si. . . . 

li-sa-az-ni-in  na-as-[ba 

eqla  ki-ma  sa-ar-ra-qi  li-ba-a  li 

sa  dAdad  i-na  a-li  ib-nu-u  bi 

75  iq-bu  ma-iz-zu-u  na-gi 

ri-ig-ma  u-se-lu 

u-ul  ip-la-hu 


Let 

Let 

Let  him  destroy 

On  the  morrow  let  him  cause  it  to  rain 
mightily 

Let  him  give  in  the  night 

Let  him  cause  it  to  rain  a tempest 

Let  it  come  upon  the  field  like  a thief. 
Let 

Which  Adad  had  created  in  the  city  .... 
They  cried  out  and  became  furious  .... 

They  sent  up  a clamor 

They  feared  not 


Column  VII. 


385  i 

dEn-ki 

dEn-ki  bi-a-su  [i-pu-sa-ma] 

iz-za-kar  a-na  i 

a-na  mi-nim  tu-ta-am-ma- 

390  u-ub-ba-al  ga-ti  a-na  n[i-si 

a-bu-bu  sa  ta-ga-ab-bu 


Ea 

Ea  his  mouth  [opened  and] 

Spake  to 

Why  hast  thou  commanded 

I will  stretch  out  my  hand  to  the 
pe[ople]  

The  flood,  which  thou  hast  ordered 


A,  16.  The  root  of  li-im-ta-an-ni-ma  is  evidently  the  familiar  Hebrew  “to  withhold 

hold  back;’’  used  of  rain,  Amos  4:7;  of  showers,  Jer.  3:3;  etc.  I owe  this  identification  to 
Professor  Torrey. 

A,  17.  This  and  the  following  two  lines  are  restored  from  the  late  redaction;  see  B,  111:46, 
47,  56  and  57. 

A,  18.  The  meaning  “Ertrag,  produce,”  etc.,  have  been  offered  for  isbiku  (see  Jensen  KB 
VI  1 278  note  8).  In  Hebrew,  the  root  besides  the  general  meaning  “to  pour  out”  means 
also  “to  shed  blood,”  “to  pour  out  one’s  soul,  one’s  personality.” 

A,  70.  The  word  ib-ba-ra apparently  is  Amorite;  ef.  the  Hebrew  “P3X  “mighty.” 

A,  75.  It  seems  as  if  ma  is  wa w consecutive. 


APPENDIX— EARLY  VERSION  OF  ATRA-HASIS  EPIC 


61 


ma-an-nu  su-u  a-na-ku 

a-na-ku-ma  u-ul-la-da 

si-bi-ir-su  i-ma-as-si-id 

395  li-ib-te-ru  su-u 

ilu-su  ul-la-ad  u iltu 


Who  is  he  ? I 

I truly  will  bear 

His  work  he  shall  suppress 

Let  be  restrained ; 

His  god  will  bear ; and  his  goddess  ( ? ) 


li-il-li-ku  i-na  [,s elippi 
ta-ar-ku-ul-li  pi-ir  . . . 

li-il-li-ku 

400  li-ir-  

mu 


Let  them  go  into  the  [ship] 

The  ship-mast 

Let  them  go 


Column  YIII. 


na  u 


435 

ga-me-ir 

....  ra  ....  a-na  ni-si  i-pu-us 
mAt-ra-am-ha-si-is  bi-a-su  i-pu-sa-  m[a ] 
iz-za-kar  a-na  be-li-su 
440  37 

duppu  II  kam-ma  i-nu-ma  i-lu  a-wi-lum 

su-nigin-bi  439 

qat  Azag-d  Aya  dup-sar  sihru 

arbugobatu  umu  28kam 
445  mu  Am-mi-za-du-ga  lugal-e 
bad  Am-mi-za-du-gaki 
ka  idBuranunaki-ra-ta 
in-ga-an-dim-ma-a 


for  the  people  he  made 

Atram-liasis  opened  his  mouth,  and 
Spoke  to  his  lord. 

37  (lines) 

The  second  tablet  (of  the  series)  “When 
God,  man.” 

Its  total  is  439  (lines) 

By  the  hand  of  Azag-dAya,  the  junior 
scribe. 

Month  Shebet,  day  28th 
of  the  year  when  Ammi-zaduga,  the  king, 
built  the  city  Dur- Ammi-zaduga 
at  the  mouth 

of  the  Euphrates  (11th  year). 


B.  A LATE  REDACTION  OF  THE  ATRA-HASIS  EPIC.2 
Transliteration.  Translation. 

Column  I. 

25  [//]  sa[ttu]  [i-na  ka-sa-di-su]  ....  [When]  the  second  year  [arrives] 

[Ill]  sattu  [i-na  ka-sa-di ] [When]  the  third  year  [arrives] 

A,  398.  The  root  of  tarTcullu  or  was  not  in  current  use  in  Akkadian. 

2 The  text  is  published  in  CT  15,  49;  it  was  translated  by  Zimmern  ZA  14  277ff;  Jensen 
KB  VI  1 274ff;  Dhorme  Choix  128ff;  Ungnad  ATB  I 61ff;  and  Rogers  Cuneiform  Parallels 

104ff. 


62 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


ni-su  i-na  ....  si-na  it-tak-ru 

IV  sattu  i-na  ka-[sa-di]-su  ma-za-zi-su- 
nu  ik-ru-ni 

rap-sa-tu  ....  si-na  is-si-qa 
30  qa-da-qad  ....  [it-tal]-la-ka  ni-su  i-na 
su-qi 

V sattu  i-na  ka-sa-[di]  e-rib  ummi 
mdrtu  i-da-gal 

ummu  a-na  marti  ul  i-pa-te  babi-[sa ] 

zi-ba-ni-it  ummi  mdrtu  i-[na-tal ] 

zi-ba-ni-it  marti  i-na-tal  [ummu] 

35  VI  sattu  i-na  ka-sa-di  il-tak-nu  ana 
nap-t[a-ni  mart  a] 

a-na  pat-te  bu-na  il-tak-nu  : im-la-ni 
ma-  .... 

bitu  il-ta-nu  sanu(-u)  i-[ri-ha-ma] 


The  people  in  their  . . . become  changed. 

When  the  fourth  year  arrives,  their  posi- 
tion was  miserable. 

The  wide  . . . their  . . . became  oppressed. 

The  people  [wan]der  in  the  streets  with 
the  head  [bowed]. 

When  the  fifth  year  arrives,  the  daugh- 
ter looks  for  the  entering  of  the 
mother. 

The  mother  opens  not  [her]  door  to  the 
daughter. 

The  daughter  [looks]  upon  the  treas- 
ures of  the  mother. 

[The  mother]  looks  upon  the  treasures 
of  the  daughter. 

When  the  sixth  year  arrives,  they  pre- 
pare the  [daughter]  for  a meal. 

For  morsels  they  prepare  the  child  .... 
were  full  (?).... 

One  house  [devours]  another. 


B,  1:28.  Dhorme  reads  ma-fya  (or  za) -si-su-nu,  and  translates  “leurs  villes(?),”  and  is 
followed  by  Rogers;  Jensen  and  Ungnad  leave  untranslated. 

B,  1:30.  The  first  part  of  the  line  is  read  qa-t(d)a  is(s,z)-?  by  Jensen;  qa-da-isu  by 
Dhorme,  and  qa-da-nis  by  Rogers.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  third  sign  is  qad,  in  which  case 
the  first  word  would  be  qa-da-qad  — Hebrew  “jp“|p  “crown  of  the  head.” 

B,  1:33.  It  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  root  of  the  word  zi-ba-ni-it  “scales”  is  the 

‘ ‘ to  hide,  treasure  up,  ’ ’ which  was  not  in  current  use  in  Akkadian.  ‘ ‘ Treasured  things,  stores  ’ ’ 
would  make  better  sense  than  ‘ ‘ scales  ’ ’,  as  usually  translated,  in  the  above  passage.  The 
word  sapanisu,  occurs  in  the  Amarna  Letters.  Knudtzon  translates  u i-za-ljar  i-na  sa-pa-ni-su 
“und  wiederkehrt  bei  seinem  Versehwinden  ” (147:10).  This,  the  writer  suggests,  should 
be  translated  “who  is  mindful  of  his  treasure.” 

B,  1:36.  The  words  a-na  pat-te  have  been  translated  by  Dhorme  “aussitot,”  by  Ungnad 
“ zur  Zelirung(?),”  perhaps  reading  hurmate(-te) , who  is  followed  by  Rogers  reading  a-na  pat-te 
“for  food(?).”  The  word  seems  to  be  the  Hebrew  flQ  “morsel.”  Not  being  current  in 
Babylonia  and  Assyria  the  redactor  wrote  the  gloss  which  precedes:  “they  prepare  the 
daughter  for  a meal.” 

B,  1:37.  The  word  i-ri-J)a-ma  restored  from  11:50,  is  Amorite,  although  the  only  occurrence 
of  the  root  in  the  0.  T.  is  in  ptlTIN  “meal,  food”  (Gesenius  Heb.  Die.  17  p.  65).  The  root 

aralpu  occurs  in  IV  R 49,  29b,  and  is  explained  as  meaning  dkalu  ‘ ‘ to  eat,  ’ cf . Delitzsch  BWB 
p.  132. 


APPENDIX— LATE  REDACTION 


63 


ki-i  se-dim-me-te  pa-nu-si-na  [ kat-mu ] 
ni-su  i-na  su-par-ki-e  [napisti  bal-ta- 
at ] 

40  sipra  il-qu-[u]  

e-tar-bu-ma 

te-ir-ti  

ma-bel  mati.  . . 44. . . ta-ia-a-[ru] .... 
45 ... . ma ....  46 ... . ma 


Like  ghosts  their  faces  [they  cover]. 
The  people  [live]  in  violence. 

They  took  a messenger  .... 

They  entered,  and 

An  oracle 

And  the  lord  of  the  land  ....  the  return 


Column  II. 


si 28  is-sur 

e-lis  [dAdad  zu-un-na-su  u-sa-qir] 

30  is-sa-kir  sap-[lis  id  is-sa-a  me-lu  i-na 
na-aq-bi ] 

is-sur  eqlu  [ is-pi-ki-e-su ] 

\i-ni-’  irtu  so]  dNisaba  [:  musatimeS  ip- 
su-u  ugaremeS] 

[seru  pal-ku-u  u]-li-id  id-[ra-nu~\ 
[sam-mu  id  u-sa]-a  su-[u  ul  i’-ru ] 

35  [ is-sa-kin-ma  a-na  nisemeS  a-sa-ku ] 
[remu  ku-sur-ma  ul  u-se-sir  sir-ra ] 


bird 

Above  [Adad  made  scarce  his  rain]. 

Be  [low]  (the  fountain  of  the  deep)  was 
stopped,  [that  the  flood  rose  not  at 
the  source]. 

The  field  diminished  [its  fertility]. 

[A  change  came  over  the  bosom  of] 
Nisaba.  [By  night  the  fields  became 
white] . 

[The  wide  plain]  bore  weeds (?). 

[The  plant  came  not]  forth;  the  sheep 
[did  not  become  pregnant]. 

[Calamity  was  put  upon  the  people]. 

[The  womb  was  closed,  and  the  child 
came  not  forth]. 

[ 1 


B,  1:38.  Jensen  reads  ki-i  simti:  simati  ‘ ‘ gemass  dem,  was  gehorig  ist,  ” Dhorme  ki-i 
simdti  “au  lieu  ....  ? d ’ornaments.  ” Ungnad  and  Rogers  leave  untranslated.  For  sedimmu 
and  idimmu  “ghost”  see  Muss-Arnolt  Die.  1016a. 

B,  1:39.  Jensen  reads  su-ut(-)k(q) e-e-si  bal-ta-at  without  translating.  Dhorme  reads 
su-par-ki-e  napisti  bal-ta-at  “Les  gens  vivaient  d’une  vie  eteinte.  ” Ungnad  did  not  translate, 
and  Rogers  followed  Dhorme,  translating  ‘ ‘ the  people  lived  with  bated  breath.  ’ ’ The  root 
paraku  “to  display  violence”  is  used  in  Akkadian. 

B,  1:43.  This  ma  is  left  wholly  unaccounted  for  in  the  translations.  The  writer  proposes 
that  it  is  the  waw  conjunctive. 

B,  11:33.  Different  meanings  have  been  offered  for  the  word  idranu,  as  “ashes,  alkali, 
saltpeter,  salt,  weeds,  thorns.”  For  the  latter  see  Hinke  A New  Boundary  Stone  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar p.  248.  I am  indebted  to  Dr.  W.  Muss-Arnolt  for  this  reference.  It  was  doubtless  an 
Amorite  word,  and  probably  was  not  understood  by  the  scribe,  who  living  in  Babylonia,  where 
the  surface  of  neglected  fields  turns  white  with  salt,  wrote  the  gloss  ‘ ‘ by  night  the  fields  became 
white.  ’ ’ 


40 

45 

50 

55 


64 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


[II  sattu  i-na  ka-sa-di-su]  ....  na-kan- 
t[um] 

[III  sattu  i-na ] ka-sa-di 
[ ni-su  i-na  ....  -si-na]  it-tak-ru 
[IV  sattu  i-na  ka-sa-di-su  ma-za-zi]- 
su-nu  ik-ru-ni 

[rap-sa-tu  . . . .-si-na]  is-si-qa 

[qa-da-qad  ....  it-tal-la-ka  ni-su]  i-na 
su-qi 

[ V sattu  i-na  ka-sa-di  e-rib]  ummi 
mdrtu  i-da-gal 

[umrnu  a-na  mdrti  ul  i-p]a-te  bdbi-sa 

[zi-ba-ni-it  ummi  martu]  i-na-tdl 

[zi-ba-ni-it  mdrti  i]-na-tal  ummu 

[17  sattu  i-na  ka-sa-di  il-tak-nu]  a-na 
nap-ta-ni  mart  a 
[a-na  pat -te  bu-na]  il-tak-nu 
[im-la-ni  ma-su  ....  bitu  i]l-ta-nu  sa- 
nu-u  i-ri-ha-ma 

[ki-i  se-dim-me-te  pa-nu-si]-na  kat-mu 
[nisu  i-na  su-par-ki]-e  napisti  bal-ta-at 

[bel  ta-si-im-t]i  A-tar -basis  amelu 
[ana  beli-su  dE]-a  uzni-su  pi-ta-at 
[i-ta-m]  u it-ti  ili-su 
[beli-su  dE-a]  it-ti-su  la-su  i-ta-mu 

bdl)  ili-su 

[i-n]a  pu-ut  ndri  il-ta-kan  ma-a-a-al-su 
. . me-it-ra-tu-su  paq-rat 


[When  the  second  year  arrives] .... 

[When  the  third  year]  arrives, 

[The  people  in  their] . . .became  changed. 

[When  the  fourth  year  arrives  their 
position]  is  miserable. 

[The  wide  ....  their  . . . . ] became  op- 
pressed. 

[The  people  wander]  in  the  street  [with 
head  bowed  down] . 

[When  the  fifth  year  arrives],  the  daugh- 
ter looks  for  [the  entering]  of  the 
mother. 

[The  mother  op]ens  not  her  door  [to  the 
daughter] . 

[The  daughter]  looks  upon  [the  treas- 
ures of  the  mother.] 

The  mother  looks  upon  [the  treasures  of 
the  daughter.] 

[When  the  sixth  year  arrives,  they  pre- 
pare] the  daughter  for  a meal. 

[For  morsels]  they  prepare  [the  child]. 

[Full  was  ] one  house  devours 

another. 

[Like  ghosts  their  faces]  they  cover. 

[The  people]  live  [in  violence]. 

[The  wise]  Atra-hasis,  the  man, 

To  E [a  his  lord] , his  thought  turns. 

[He  speaks]  with  his  god. 

[His  lord  Ea]  speaks  with  him. 

the  door  of  his  god. 

By  the  river  he  places  his  bed. 

seek  his  rains. 


B,  11:56.  Instead  of  la-su  Jensen  read  la-a,  and  considers  it  to  be  the  negative  particle. 
Dhorme  also  read  it  as  the  particle.  Ungnad,  and  Rogers  while  regarding  it  as  the  negative, 
appreciated  the  difficulty  added  a question  mark.  It  appears  to  be  the  Hebrew  inseparable 
preposition  with  the  pronominal  suffix,  which  the  scribe  glossed  with  it-ti-su. 

B,  11:59.  Me-it-ra-tu-su  has  been  translated  “rains,”  see  Dhorme.  Jensen,  Ungnad  and 
Rogers  do  not  translate.  This  is  the  Hebrew  “02  in  the  plural,  as  recognized  by  Dhorme. 

T T 


5 

10 

15 

20 


APPENDIX— LATE  REDACTION 


65 


Column  III. 


. . . . ir-ta 

[ eli \ rig(ri-gi)-me-si-na  it-ta-d[ir ] 

[izzakar  ina]  hu-bu-ri-si-na  la  i-sa-ba- 
ta  [ ni-si-tu ] 

[dEn-l\il  il-ta-kan  pu-hur-[su] 
[is-za]-ka-ra  a-na  ilanimei  maremeh-su 
[iq]-tab-ta-ma  [r]i-gi-im  a-me-lu-te 
[eli  r]ig{ri-g[i)]-me-[si-n]a  at-ta-a- 
( di-ir ) dir 

[izzakar  ina]  hu-[bu]-ri-si-na  la  i-sa- 
ba-ta  ni-si-tu 
. . . . ma  su-ru-bu-u  lib-si 
[sur-r]is  li-si  ri-gim-si-na  nam-tar 

[ki-m]  a me-hi-e  li-zi-qa-si-na-ti-ma 
[ mur-s]u  ti-’u  su-ru-bu-u  a-sa-ku 

. . . . ma  su-ru-bu-u  ib-si 
[ sur] -ris  (ri-is ) i-si  ri-gim-si-na  nam- 
tar 

[ki-ma]  me-hi-e  i-zi-qa-si-na-ti-ma 
[mur]-su  ti-’u  su-ru-bu-u  a-sa-ku 

[bel  ta]-si-im-ti  A-tar-hasis  amelu 
[ ana  beli]-su  dE-a  uzni-su  pi-ta-at 
[i-t]  a-mu  it-ti  ili-su 
[beli]-su  dE-a  it-ti-su  i-ta-mu 


[Concerning]  their  cry  he  became  trou- 
bled. 

[He  spoke  in]  their  assemblage  to  those 
untouched  [by  the  desolations]. 

[Enl]il  held  [his]  assembly. 

[He  sa]id  to  the  gods  his  children, 

Those  observing  the  clamor  of  men  : 
[Concerning]  their  clamor  I am  trou- 
bled. 

[He  said  in]  their  assemblage  to  those 
untouched  by  the  desolations. 

let  there  be  malaria. 

[Hast]ily  let  fate  make  an  end  to  their 
clamor. 

[Li]ke  a storm,  let  it  overwhelm  them. 
[Sic]kness,  headache,  malaria,  calamity. 

and  they  had  malaria. 

[Hast]ily  fate  made  an  end  to  their  cry. 

[Like]  a storm  it  overwhelmed  them, 
[Sick] ness,  headache,  malaria,  calamity. 

The  wi[se  lord]  Atra-hasis,  the  man, 

To  Ea,  his  [lord],  his  thought  turns. 

[He  sp]eaks  with  his  god. 

His  [lord]  Ea  speaks  with  him. 


B,  111:3.  The  words  here  to  be  restored  are  probably  MV (=  iszdkar)  a-na  (or  ina), 
as  in  lines  111:37,  ete. 

B,  111:3.  La  i-sa-ba-ta  ni-si-tu  was  translated  by  Jensen  “sollen  nicht erfassen;” 

by  Dhorme  “l’oubli  ne  l’atteindra  pas;  ” by  Ungnad  “ergreift  ihn  nicht;  ” by  Rogers  “gives 
me  no  heed.”  The  root  of  i-sa-ba-ta  does  not  seem  to  be  sabatu  “to  take,”  but  the  well 
known  Hebrew  root  Dvy  “ to  grieve,  to  be  pained;’’  cf.  112*1  64:6,  etc.  This 

root  was  not  current  in  Akkadian.  The  word  ni-si-tu  which  also  occasioned  difficulty,  Dhorme 
has  correctly  compared  with  Ps-  88:13.  This  also  is  a Hebrew  word. 

t • : 

B,  III: 4.  Jensen  has  proposed  that  \dEn]-lil  be  restored.  Mr.  Sidney  Smith  of  the 
British  Museum  kindly  informed  the  writer  that  the  sign  as  reproduced  in  the  text  is  correctly 
copied. 

B,  III: 5.  In  the  old  version  instead  of  a-na  ilani  mare-su  we  have  e-na  el(?)-li  ra-bu-tim. 


66 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


A-tar-hasis  pa-su  epusa(-sa)  i-qab-bi 
a-na  dE-a  beli-su 
belli  ut-ta-za-ma  ta-ni-se-ti 
lu-Jcu-nu-ma  e-kal  ma-tu 
25  [dE]-a  belu  ut-ta-za-ma  ta-ni-se-ti 
....  sa  ilanimei-ma  e-kal  ma-tu 

....  ma  te-ib-nu-na-si-ma 
[ li-ip-par]-sa  mur-sa  ti-’u  su-bu-ru-u 
a-sa-ku 

[dE-a  pa-su  epusa(-sa)  i\-qab-bi  a-na 
A-tar-hasis  me-izkur-su, 

30  ka-lu-sa-pu-u  i-na  ma-ti 

-a  tu-sa-pa-a  dIstar-ku-un 

....  -ka  i-la  par-si-su  33  ....  tu  niqu 
34  ....  ana  qud-me-sa  35  ....  -qat 
ra-ba-ma  36  ....  nu-ka-at  . . . [ il - 
ta]-kan{ka-an)  qat-su 
[En-lil.]il-ta-kan  pu-hur-su  : izakkara 
a-na  ildnimei  maremei-su 
....  ra  me-e-ta  as-ku-na-si-na-ti 
[ nise ] la  im-ta-a  a-na  sa  pa-na  i-ta-at- 
ra 

40  [eli]  rig-me-si-na  at-ta-a-dir 

[izzakar  ina]  liu-bu-ri-si-na  la  i-sa-ba- 
ta  ni-si-tu 

[lip-par]  -sa-ma  a-na  ni-se-e  ti-ta 
[i-n]a  kar-si-si-na  li-me-su  sam-mu 
[e]-Z/s  dAdad  zu-un-na-su  lu-sa-qir 


Atra-hasis  opened  Ms  mouth,  and  speaks 
To  Ea,  his  lord. 

0 lord,  mankind  is  in  misery. 

Your  power  consumes  the  land. 

[E]a,  0 lord,  mankind  is  in  misery. 

[The  anger]  of  the  gods  consumes  the 
land. 

thou  -who  hast  created  us 

Let  sickness,  headache,  malaria,  calamity 
ce[ase]. 

[Ea  opened  his  mouth],  he  speaks  to 
Atar-hasis,  and  tells  him : 

in  the  land. 

pray  to  your  goddess. 

god,  his  command. 


[Enlil]  held  his  assembly;  he  speaks  to 
the  gods  his  children. 

I will  put  them  to  death. 

[The  people]  have  not  become  less;  they 
are  more  numerous  than  before. 

[Concerning]  their  cry  I am  troubled. 

[He  said  in]  their  assemblage  to  those 
untouched  by  the  desolations. 

Let  the  fig  tree  for  the  people  be  [cut 
off], 

[I]n  their  bellies  let  the  plant  be  want- 
ing. 

Above,  let  Adad  make  his  rain  scarce. 


B,  111:29.  All  the  translations  construe  me  as  an  emphatic  particle.  The  writer  regards 
it  as  the  waiv  consecutive. 

B,  111:38.  This  has  been  read  ....  ra-me  e ta-as-ku-na-si-na-ti  “do  nothing  for  them.” 
Me-e-ta  seems  to  be  the  Hebrew  JIIQ-  However,  as  the  passage  is  incomplete,  this  can  only 

Y T 

be  regarded  as  conjectural. 

B,  111:42.  In  the  four  transliterations  the  reading  is  given  ni-se  e-ti-ta,  and  is  left  untrans- 
lated except  by  Dhorme,  “aux  gens  la  plante  epineuse.  ” See  note  under  A,  9. 

B,  111:44.  In  the  old  version  we  have su  dAdad  li-sa-aq-ti-il,  see  A,  11.  Probably  a 

Babylonian  scribe  did  not  know  the  Hebrew  word,  and  changed  the  sense. 


APPENDIX— LATE  REDACTION 


67 


45  [li-is]  -sa-kir  lap-lis  ia  il-la-a  me-lu  i-na 
na-aq-bi 

[ l]i-lur  eqlu  il-pi-ki-e-lu 
[l]i  -ni-’  irtu  la  dNisdba  : mulatimeS  lip- 
su-u  ugaremeS 

seru  pal-ku-u  lu-li-id  id-ra-nu 
[l]i-bal-kat  ki-ri-im-la  : sam-mu  ia 
u-sa-a  lu-u  ia  i-’-ru 

50  [li]l-la-kin-ma  a-na  nilemeS  a-sa-ku 
[ remu ] lu-ku-sur-ma  ia  u-le-lir  lir-ra 

ip-[par-s]u  a-na  ni-le-e  ti-ta 
i-na  kar-li-li-na  e-me-lu  lam-mu 
e-lil  dAdad  zu-un-na-lu  u-la-qir 

55  is-sa-kir  sap-lis  ul  il-la-a  me-lu  ina  na- 
aq-bi 

il-lur  eqlu  il-pi-ki-lu 
i-ni-’  irtu  la  dNisaba : muldtimeS  ip-su-u 
ugaremeS 

seru  pal-ku-u  u-li-id  id-ra-na  : ib-bal- 
kat  ki-ri-im-la 

lam-mu  id  u-sa-a  lu-u  id  i’-ru 

60  il-la-kin-ma  a-na  nilemeS  a-sa-ku 
remu  ku-sur-ma  ul  u-le-lir  lir-ra 


Below  let  (the  fountain  of  the  deep)  be 
stopped,  that  the  flood  rise  not  at  the 
source. 

Let  the  field  withhold  its  fertility. 

Let  a change  come  over  the  bosom  of 
Nisaba;  by  night  let  the  fields  become 
white. 

Let  the  wide  field  bear  weeds ( ?). 

Let  her  bosom  revolt,  that  the  plant  come 
not  forth,  that  the  sheep  become  not 
pregnant. 

Let  calamity  be  placed  upon  the  people. 

Let  the  [womb]  be  closed,  that  it  bring 
forth  no  infant. 

The  fig  tree  was  cut  [off]  for  the  people. 

In  their  bellies,  the  plant  was  wanting. 

Above,  Adad  made  scarce  his  rain. 

Below  (the  fountains  of  the  deep)  was 
stopped,  that  the  flood  rose  not  at  the 
source. 

The  field  withheld  its  fertility. 

A change  came  over  the  bosom  of  Nisaba; 
the  fields  by  night  became  white, 

The  wide  field  bore  weeds  ( ? ) ; her  womb 
revolted. 

The  plant  came  not  forth ; the  sheep  did 
not  become  pregnant. 

Calamity  was  placed  upon  the  people. 

The  womb  was  closed,  and  brought  forth 
no  baby. 


B,  111:45.  As  already  observed,  A,  12  had  been  injured  when  the  early  text  was  written, 
and  the  subject  of  the  verb  was  lost.  It  is  also  wanting  in  this  text.  We  find  the  subject  in 
Gen.  8:2,  in  the  words  “fountains  of  the  deep.”  In  Genesis  the  same  form  from  the  same 
verb  is  used,  except  that  it  is  in  the  plural,  namely  y"OD* 

: t • 

B,  111:49.  Jensen  translated  su-u  ia  i-’-ru  “Korn  nicht  . ..  .ess!  ” Dhorme  read  su-u  ia 
i-  ’-ru  ‘ ‘ qu  Jelle  ne  germe  pas ! ’ Ungnad  ‘ ‘ Getride  nicht  kommen  ( ? ) ! ”.  Rogers,  reading  su-u 
i-im-ru,  translated  “lambs  shall  not  fatten.”  There  are  two  occurrences  of  su,  in  the  Annals 
of  Sargon,  see  Delitzsch  HWB  632.  This  also  is  the  Hebrew  word  “one  of  a flock”  (a 

sheep  or  a goat),  here  used  collectively  as  in  the  O.  T.  The  verb  must  be  i-’-ru  following 
B,  111:59.  This  is  the  root  fppj  “to  conceive.” 


68 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


Column 

....  [d]E-a  iz-za-kar 

u-sam  ( sa-am ) -na-si 

....  [tarn]-nu  si-ip-ta  : is-tu-ma  tam- 
nu-u  si-pa-sa 

[ . . . . i]-ta-di  eli  ti-it-ti-sa 
5 [XIV  gi-ir]  -si  taq-ri-is  : VII  gi-ir-si 
ana  imni  tas-ku-un 

[VII  gi]-ir-si  ana  sumeli  tas-ku-un  : 

i-na  be-ru-su-nu  i-ta-di  libitta 
....  a ap-pa-ri  pa-ri-iq  a-bu-un-na-te 
tip-te-si 

[. . . . is]-si-ma  ir-se-te  mu-te-ti 
[T7/]  u VII  sa-su-ra-ti  : VII  u-ba-na-a 

zikaremeS 

10  [VII]  u-ba-na-a  sinnisatimei 
[s]a-sM-ru  ba-na-at  si-im-tu 
si-na-san  ( sa-na ) u-ka-la-la-si-na 
si-na-san(sa-na)  u-ka-la-la  mah-ru-sa 
u-su-ra-te  sa  nisemei-ma  ii-sa-ar  dMa-mi 

15  i-na  bit  a-li-te  ha-ris-ti  : VII  umeme<) 
li-na-di  libittu 

i-lut  istu  bit  dMah  e-ris-ta  dMa-mi 

sab-su-tu-um-ma  ina  bit  ha-ris-ti  li-ih- 
du 

ak-ki  a-li-it-tu  u-la-du-ma 

ummi  sir-ri  lu-har-ri-sa  ra-ma-an-  [ni- 
sa ] 

20  [zi]-ka-ru  ....  22  ....  el-li  .... 


IV. 

Ea  said. 

....  he  shall  cause  her  to  recite. 

. . . . [reci]ted  an  incantation.  After 
she  recited  the  incantation ; 

[She  sp]at  upon  her  clay. 

[Fourteen  pieces]  she  pinched  off;  seven 
pieces  she  laid  on  the  right. 

[Seven]  pieces  she  laid  on  the  left;  be- 
tween them  she  placed  a brick. 

Offspring  is  delivered,  the  birth-stool ( ?). 

She  then  called  the  wise  .... 

Seven  and  seven  mothers,  seven  formed 
boys. 

Seven  formed  girls 

The  mother,  the  creator  of  destiny. 

Them  ( ? ) , they  finished  them. 

Them(  ?),  they  finished  before  her. 

The  figures  of  people,  Mami  formed. 

In  the  house  of  the  bearing  one  the  mid- 
wife, shall  let  the  brick  for  seven  days 
lie. 

Divinity  ( ?)  from  the  temple  of  Mali,  the 
wise  Mami, 

They  that  are  angry  in  the  house  of  the 
midwife,  let  be  happy. 

When  the  bearing  one  is  about  to  give 
birth, 

Let  the  mother  of  the  child  conceive  it 
like  into  herself. 

Male  


C.  ASSYRIAN  FRAGMENT.3 

. . . . lu-u . . . . ) 

. . . . ki-ma  kip-pa-ti ....  like  the  ends  of  heaven, 

3 The  text  was  published  by  Pinches  IV  Ra  Additions  p.  9 ; and  Delitzsch  Assyrische 
Lesestiicke ? p.  101.  It  was  translated  by  Haupt  KA  T‘  61;  Jensen  Kosmologie  371f;  KB 
VI  1 254f;  Winckler  Textbuch  94f;  Jeremias  ATAO  233;  Dhorme  Choix  126f;  Ungnad 
ATB  I 57;  Rogers  Cuneiform  Parallels  104;  and  Jastrow  Eeb.  and  Bab.  Trad.  344. 


APPENDIX— ASSYRIAN  FRAGMENT 


69 


. . . .lu-da-an  e-lis  u sa[p-lis] 

....  e-pi-hi  . . . . ) 

5 ....a-dan-na  sa  a-sap-pa-rak-[kum- 

ma] 

[ana  elippi ] e-ru-um-ma  bdb  elippi  tir- 

[ ra ] 

lib-bi-sa  seat-ka  busu-ka  u 

makkuru-[ka ] 

[assat]-ka  ki-mat-ka  sa-lat-ka  u 
mdremeS  um-ma-ni 

bu-ul  seri  u-ma-am  seri  ma-la  urqiti 
ir- 

10  [a-sap-p]  a-rak-kum-ma  i-na-as-as-sa-ru 
babi-[ka] 

[At-ra] -ha-sis  pa-a-su  epus-ma  iqabi 
[iz-zak]-kar  ana  dE-a  be-li-[su ] 
ma-ti-ma-a  elippi  ul  e-pu-us  .... 

[ina  qaq]-qa-ri  e-sir  u-[sur-tu] 

15  [u-sur]-tu  lu-mur-ma  elippu  [ lu-pu - 
tis] 

. . . .ina  qaq-qa-ri  e-sir 

. . . .sa  taq-ba-a 


....  let  it  be  strong  above  and  below, 

close 

....  the  time  I will  send  thee. 

....  enter  and  close  the  door  of  the  ship. 

....  in  it  thy  grain,  thy  possessions,  and 
thy  property, 

Thy  [wife],  thy  family,  thy  relatives  and 
the  craftsmen, 

The  cattle  of  the  field,  the  beasts  of  the 
field,  as  many  as  dev  [our]  grass, 

I will  send  thee,  and  they  will  guard  thy 
door. 

Atra-hasis  opened  his  mouth,  and  spoke. 
He  said  to  Ea,  his  lord : 

How  long ! I have  not  built  a ship. 

Upon  the  earth  draw  a plan ! 

The  plan  let  me  see,  and  I will  build  the 
ship. 

....  upon  the  ground  he  drew. 

which  thou  hast  commanded. 


D.  A DELUGE  STORY  IN  SUMERIAN.4 
Column  III. 


The  beginning  of  the 

10  ki-  ....  an-na?  ....  11  uk[ 

12  a-ma-ru  ....  13 14  .... 

-ne-ne  in 

15  u-bi-a  dNin-t[u ] dim  a- 

azag  dInnanna-ge  uku-bi-su  a-nir  mu- 


dEn-ki  sa-ni-te-na-ge  a-i-ni-  ....  -gi-gi 


column  is  wanting. 

The  ....  place  ....  11  The  people  .... 
12  The  flood  ....  13  ....  14  ....  the 
made,  .... 

At  that  time  Nintu  [cried  aloud]  like  [a 
woman  in  travail]. 

The  holy  Ishtar  lamented  for  her  people. 
Ea  in  his  own  heart  held  counsel. 


4 The  text,  transliteration  and  translation  were  published  by  Poebel  Historical  and  Gram- 
matical Texts  No.  1,  and  Historical  Texts  14ff  and  66ff.  Translations  are  also  found  in 
Barton  Archaeology  and  the  Bible  280f;  Jastrow  Heb.  and  Bab.  Trad.  335ff;  and  King 
Legends  of  Babylon  and  Egypt  62ff. 


20 

25 

5 

10 


70 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


An  dEn-lil  dEn-ki  dNin-har-sag-ga- 

g[e]  

dingir-an-ki-ge  mu  An  dEn-lil  mu- 
n[i]-.  - - - 

u-ba  Zi-u-sud-du  lugal-am  pasis 

AN-SAG-gur-gur  mu-un-dim-dim  en 


nam-BCR-na  KA-si-si-gi  ni-te-ga 

u-su-us-e  sag-us-gub-ba 

ma-mu-nu-me-a  e-de  KA-bal 

mu-an-ki-bi-ta  pa-pa-de 

Column 

.-su  dingir-ri-e-ne  GI§  . . . 
Zi-u-sud-du  da.  bi(?).gub-ba  gis-mu. . 

iz-zi-da  a-gub-bu-mu  gub-ba 

iz-zi-da  i(nim)-ga-ra-ab-dii-du  .... 

na-ri-ga-mu  gis-TU-P[I]  

su-me-a  a-ma-ru  u-dii  kab-d[u-ga]  ba- 


numun-nam-lu-qal  ha-lam-e-d  [e]  .... 
di-til-la  i(nim)-pu-uh-ru-[um  dingir- 
ri-e-ne-ka . . ] 

dii-dii-ga  An  dEn-[lil]  

[n]am-lugal-bi  bal-bi 

e(  ?)-[n]e-su 


Anu,  Enlil,  Ea  and  Nin-Harsag  .... 

The  gods  of  heaven  and  earth  inv[oked] 
the  name  of  Anu  (and)  Enlil. 

At  that  time  Zi-u-sudda  the  king,  the 
priest  of  .... 

A great he  made 

In  humility  he  prostrates  himself,  in  rev- 
erence .... 

Daily  he  stands  in  attendance 

A dream,  as  had  not  been  before,  comes 
forth 

By  the  name  of  heaven  and  earth  he  con- 
jures  

IY. 

For the  gods 

Zi-u-suddu  standing  at  its  side  heard  . . . 

At  the  wall  on  my  left  side  stand 

At  the  wall  I will  speak  a word  to  thee. 

My  holy  one,  give  attention ! 

By  our  hand(  ?)  a flood  will  be  sent; 

To  destroy  the  seed  of  mankind  .... 

Is  the  decision,  the  word  of  the  assembly 
[of  the  gods] 

The  commands  of  Anu  (and)  En[lil  . . . 

Its  (their)  kingdom,  its  (their)  reign  .. 

To  him  (them)  .... 


[ ]-na  mu- 

The  rest  of  the  column,  or  about  three-fourths  of  the  text,  is  missing. 


Column  V. 

im-hul-im-hul-ni-gur-gur-gal  du-a-bi  All  the  mighty  windstorms  together 
ur-bi  ni-lah-g’i-es  blew. 

a-ma-ru  u-dii  kab-dii-ga  ba-an-da-ab-  The  flood raged. 

iir-ur 

D,  IV: 8.  As  Poebel  has  pointed  out  pu-u]j-ru-[um]  is  Akkadian. 


APPENDIX— SUMERIAN  DELUGE  STORY 


71 


u-7-am  ge-7-am  When  for  seven  days,  for  seven  nights 

a-ma-ru  kalam-ma  ba-ur-ra-ta  The  flood  overwhelmed  the  land. 


5 s^ma-gur-gur  a-gal-la  im-hul-bul-bul-a- 
ta 

dUtu  i-im-ma-ra-e  an-ki-a  u-ma-ma 

Zi-u-sud-du  gisma-gur-gur  KA(?)- 
BTjR  mu-un-da-BuR 
sul-dUtu  gis-sir-ni  ( ? ) .sa  ( ? ) gisma-gur- 
gur-su  ba-an-tu-ri-en 
Zi-u-sud-du  lugal-am 
10  igi-dUtu-su  KA-ki-su-ub-ba-tum 

lugal-e  gu  im-ma-ab-gaz-e  u[d]u  im- 
ma-ab-sar-ri 

....  si-gal  ....  -la-da  ....  13  

mu-un-[n]a 14 15 


When  the  storm  drove  out  the  great  boat 
over  the  mighty  waters. 

Shamash  (the  sun-god)  came  forth  shed- 
ding light  over  the  heaven  and  earth. 

Zi-u-suddu  opened  the  [hatch]  of  the 
great  boat. 

The  light  of  the  hero  Shamash  enters  into 
the  interior  (?)  of  the  great  boat. 

Zi-u-suddu,  the  king, 

Prostrates  himself  before  Shamash. 

The  king  sacrifies  an  ox ; a sheep  he 
slaughters  ( ? ) . 


bi-in-si  16 tab-ba  17  ....  a-[b]a 

The  rest  of  the  column  is  missing. 


Column  VI. 


zi-an-na  zi-ki-a  ni-pa-de-en-zi-en 
za-zu-da  he-im-da-la 

An  dEn-lil  zi-an-na  zi-ki-a  ni-pa-de[- 
en]-ze-en 

za-da-ne-ne  im-da-la 
5 nig-gil-(ma)  ki-ta  e-de  im-ma-ra-e-de 

Zi-u-sud-du  lugal-am 
igi  An  dEn-lil-la-su  KA-ki-su-ub-ba- 
tum 

ti  dingir-dim  mu-un-na-si-mu 
zi-da-ri  dingir-dim  mu-un-na-ab-e-de 

10  u-ba  Zi-u-sud-du  lugal-am 

mu  nig-gil-ma  numun-nam-lu-qal- 
URU  ( ? ) -ag 


By  the  soul  of  heaven,  by  the  soul  of 
earth  ye  shall  conjure  him, 

That  he  may  be  ....  with  you. 

Anu  (and)  Enlil  by  the  soul  of  heaven, 
by  the  soul  of  earth  shall  ye  conjure; 
He»will  be  ....  with  you. 

The  niggilma  of  the  ground  rises  in 
abundance. 

Zi-u-suddu,  the  king, 

Before  Anu  (and)  Enlil  prostrates  him- 
self 

Life  like  (that  of)  a god  he  gives  to  him; 

An  eternal  soul  like  (that  of)  a god  he 
creates  for  him. 

At  that  time  Zi-u-suddu,  the  king, 

The  name  of  the  niggilma  (he  named) 
“Presence  of  the  seed  of  mankind” 


72 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


kur-bal  kur-dilmun(  ?)-na  ki  . . . ,-su  In  a ....  land,  that  of  Dilmun,  they 


mu-un-ti-es  caused  him  to  dwell, 

za-  gal-bi(  ?)-ti(  ?)-es-a 


The  rest  of  the  column,  about  three-fourths  of  the  text,  is  missing, 
-ra  (?)  Zi-u-sud-du  SAL  . . . 


E.  THE  DELUGE  STORY  IN  THE  GIL  GAME  SH  EPIC.5 


dGilgames  a-na  sa-su-ma  izakkara(-ra) 
a-na  tlm-napis-tim  ru-u-qi 
a-na-at-ta-la-kum-ma  Um-napis-tim 
mi-na-tu-ka  id  sa-na-a  ki-i  ia-a-ti-ma  at- 
ta 

u at-ta  ul  sa-na-ta  ki-i  ia-ti-ma  at-ta 

gu-um-mur-ka  lib-bi  a-na  e-pis  tu-qu- 
un-ti 

[ina  n]a-a-hi  na-da-at-ta  e-li(lu)  si-ri- 
ka 

. . . .ki-i  ta-az-ziz-ma  ina  puhur  ilanimei 
ba-la-ta  tas-’-u 

tfm-napis-tim  ana  sa-su-ma  izakkara 
(-ra)  a-na  dGilgames 
lu-up-te-ka  dGilgames  a-mat  ni-sir-ti 

u pi-ris-ta  sa  ilanimei  ka-a-sa  lu-uq-bi- 
ka 

5lSu-ri-ip-pak  alu  sa  ti-du-su  at-ta 
[ina  a-hi]  narPu-rat-ti  sak-nu 


Gilgamesh  said  to  him,  to  Um-napishtim, 
the  distant  one : 

I look  upon  thee,  O,  Um-napishtim ; 

Thy  appearance  is  not  changed,  for  I am 
like  thou  art. 

And  thou  art  not  different,  for  I am  like 
thou  art. 

There  is  perfection  of  heart  unto  thee  to 
make  combat. 

And  in  resting  thou  liest  upon  thy  back. 

[Tell  me],  how  hast  thou  stood  up,  and 
found  life  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods  ? 

Um-napishtim  spoke  to  him,  even  to  Gil- 
gamesh ; 

I will  reveal,  0 Gilgamesh,  the  secret 
story ; 

And  the  decision  of  the  gods  to  thee  I 
will  relate. 

Shurippak,  a city  which  thou  knowest, 

Is  situated  (on  the  bank)  of  the  Eu- 
phrates, 


5 George  Smith  published  the  first  translation  in  The  Chaldean  Account  of  Genesis  263ff 
(1876).  The  text  is  published  in  Delitzsch  ALa  lOlff ; Haupt  Nimrod-Epos  133ff;  and  Pinches 
IV  Ra  43f.  Translations  have  been  published  also  by  Fox  Talbot,  Oppert,  Lenormant,  Haupt, 
Jensen,  Jeremias,  Winckler,  Zimmern,  Edng,  Ball,  Jastrow,  Muss-Arnolt,  Clay,  Rogers,  Barton 
and  others.  For  comparative  purposes  the  following  four  are  freely  quoted  in  the  discussions 
in  the  notes:  Jensen  KB  VI  1 228ff;  Dhorme  Clwix  lOOff;  Ungnad  ATB  I 50ff;  and  Rogers 
Cuneiform  Parallels  90ff. 

E,  6.  Instead  of  the  usual  reading  [u  i-n]a  a-lii  narda-at  e-li  si-rv-lca  “thou  liest  down  • 
upon  thy  side,  upon  thy  back  ’ ’ the  writer  proposes  the  above. 

E,  9.  The  word  nisirtu  meaning  “hidden  thing,”  as  already  noted,  is  Amorite. 


APPENDIX— DELUGE  STORY  IN  GILGAMESH  EPIC 


73 


alu  su-u  la-bir-ma  ilanimeS  kir-bu-su 

[a-n]a  sa-kan  a-bu-bi  ub-la  lib-ba-su- 
nu  ildnimei  rabutemeS 
15  [kir]-ba-su  abu-su-nu  dA-nu-um 
ma-lik-su-nu  qu-ra-du  dEn-lil 
guzalu-su-nu  dEn-Urta 
gu-gal-la-su-nu  dEn-nu-gi 
dNin-igi-azag  dE-a  it-ti-su-nu  ta-me-ma 

20  a-mat-su-nu  u-sa-an-na-a  a-na  qi-ik-ki- 
su 

qi-ik-kis  qi-ik-kis  i-gar  i-gar 
qi-ik-ki-su  si-me-ma  i-ga-ru  hi-is-sa-as 
amel  Su-ru-up-pa-ku-u  mar  TJbara- 
dTu-Tu 

u-qur  bita  bi-ni  elippa 
25  mus-sir  mesre(-e)  se-’-i  napsatemei 
na(?)-ak-ku-ra  zi-ir-ma  na-pis-ta  bul- 
lit 

[s]  u-li-ma  zer  nap-sa-a-ti  ka-la-ma  a-na 
lib-bi  ifelippi 

elippa  sa  ta-ba-an-nu-si  at-ta 
l[u]-u  man-da-da  mi-na-tu-sa 
30  [l]u-u  mit-hur  ru-bu-us-sa  u mu-rak-sa 

[ki]-ma  ap-si-i  sa-a-si  su-ul-lil-si 


That  city  was  old  when  the  gods  within 
it, 

The  great  gods,  brought  their  hearts  to 
send  a deluge. 

[These  drew  near]  their  father,  Ann; 
Their  counselor,  the  warrior  Enlil; 

Their  herald,  En-Urta; 

Their  hero,  Ennugi. 

The  lord  of  wisdom,  Ea  counseled  with 
them ; and 

He  repeated  their  words  to  the  qikkis : 

Qikkis,  qikkis!  Wall,  wall! 

0,  qikkis,  hear ! 0 wall,  give  attention ! 
Man  of  Shurippak,  son  of  Ubara-Tutu, 

Tear  down  the  house,  build  a ship  ! 

Leave  possessions,  take  thought  for  life ! 
Abandon  property ; save  life  ! 

Bring  into  the  ship  the  seed  of  life  of 
everything ! 

The  ship  which  thou  shalt  build, 

Let  its  dimensions  be  measured! 

Let  its  breadth  and  its  length  be  propor- 
tioned ! 

[Li]ke  the  apsu,  protect  it  with  a roof 
( sdsi ) ! 


E,  20.  The  writer  feels  that  qiklcis  or  qiqqis  is  an  archaic  Amorite  word  which  is  glossed 
by  igaru  “wall.”  A wooden  wall  would  alone  furnish  material  for  the  construction  of  the 
boat.  Si-me-ma  is  also  apparently  a gloss  for  Ji-is-so-os. 

E,  26.  If  instead  of  na-ak-ku-ra  the  injured  line  should  prove  to  read  in  a ma-ak-ku-ra, 
then  zi-ir-ma  would  probably  be  from  “)1  p or  “nr  “ to  turn  aside”,  and  the  preceding  line 
would  be  a gloss;  the  Akkadian  word  i-zi-ir-an-ni  “hates  me”  occurs  a few  lines  below. 

E,  31.  The  word  sa-a-si  also  occurs  in  line  61,  in  sa-a-si  e-sir-si.  Jensen  translates  31 
“ [B]eim  Weltmeer  leg  es  (,  es)  hin”,  Dhorme  “Sur  l’ocean  placede!  ”.  Ungnad  “ [An]  den 
Ozean  lege  es  vor  Anker (?),”  Rogers  “ ... . the  heaven  cover  it  with  a roof,”  and  Hilpreeht 
“Cover  it  like  the  subterranean  waters.”  Jensen  translated  line  60,  “leh  warf  hin  die  Vorder- 
gestalt  zeichnete  es;”  Dhorme,  “Je  traeai  ses  contours,  je  les  dessinai;”  Ungnad,  “Ich 
entwarf(?)  den  Vorderbau(?)  und  zeichnete  es  (das  Schiff) ; ” and  Rogers,  “I  enclosed  it.” 

The  word  sa-a-si  is  perhaps  to  be  identified  with  the  Amorite  form  of  Shamash,  namely 
see  Clay  BE  X:116.  Nabopolassar  in  a late  building  inscription  from  Sippar  calls  himself 


35 

40 

45 

55 


74 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


[a]-na-ku  i-di-ma  a-zak-ka-ra  a-na 
dE-a  be-li-ia 

. . . .-[u]r(?)be-li  sa  taq-ba-a  at-ta 
ki-a-am 

[at]-ta-’-id  a-na-ku  ep-pu-us 
....  [m]i(f)  lu-pu-ul  dlu  um-ma-nu 
u si-bu-tum 

[d]E-a  pa-a-su  i-pu-us-ma  i-qab-bi 
i-zak-ka-ra  ana  ardi-su  ia-a-tu 
. . . . lu  at-ta  ki-a-am  ta-qab-ba-as-su- 
nu-ti 

[a]-di-ma  ia-a-si  dEnlil  i-zi-ir-an-ni- 
ma 

ul  us-sab  ina  a[li-ku]-nu-ma 
[in]a  qaq-qar  dEn-lil  ul  a-sak-ka-[na ] 
pani-ia-a-ma 

[ ur]-7'ad-ma  ana  apsi  it-ti  d[E-a  be\- 
li-ia  as-ba-ku 

[eli  k]a-a-su-nu  u-sa-az-na-an-ku-nu-si 
nu-uh-sam-ma 

[bu-’-ur]  issuremeS  bu-[’]-ur  nunemeS 
ma 

....  [ra-b]a-a  e-bu-ra-am-ma 
. . . . [mu-ir]  ku-uk-ki  ( ina  li-la-a-ti) 

[u-sa-az-na-nu-ku]  -nu-si  sa-mu-tum 
ki-ba-a-ti 

[mim-mu-u  se-e-ri ] ina  na-ma-a-ri 
. . . . [a]s-ma-a  ...  50  ...  pa-as(z,  s) 
u ...  51  [fr]a(.?)  ...  54  u ...  pi 
. . . . ta 


I understood,  and  said  to  Ea,  my  lord, 

[The  word]  of  the  lord,  as  thou  hast 
commanded,  thus 

I will  observe,  I will  execute. 

[But  what]  shall  I answer  the  city,  the 
people,  and  the  elders? 

Ea  opened  his  mouth  and  spoke. 

He  said  unto  me,  his  servant : 

Verily  thou  shalt  say  to  them, 

[I  kn]ow  that  Enlil  hates  me,  and 

I may  not  dwell  in  your  city ; 

Nor  on  the  soil  of  Enlil  set  my  face. 

I will  go  down  to  the  ocean;  with  [Ea] 
my  lord,  I will  dwell. 

[Upon]  you  will  he  (Enlil)  then  rain 
abundance. 

[A  catch  of]  birds;  a catch  of  fish, 

....  a harvest,  and 

....  When  the  niuir  kukki,  in  the  eve- 
ning, 

Will  send  you  a heavy  x-ain. 

glows 

heard  


About  fifty  lines  missing. 

sir-ru [is] -si  kup-ra  bore  the  asphalt. 

dan-mi  ina [hi]-sih-tu  ub-la  Strong I brought  the  necessities]. 

mi-gi-ir  dSa-as-su  KB  III  2,  8:10.  It  is  written  without  the  determinative  KB  III  64:11,  13. 
The  word  seems  to  mean  Shamash,  as  hitherto  noted.  In  the  deluge  text  above,  does  it  not 
refer  to  the  course  through  which  Shamash  travels,  namely  the  firmament,  the  covering,  the 
vault  above  the  earth?  The  word  aps-ii  was  a synonym.  The  passage  it  would  seem  should  be 
translated,  “like  the  apsti,  enclose  it  with  a roof’’.  In  the  case  of  the  deluge  ship,  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  that  it  have  a roof. 


APPENDIX— DELUGE  STORY  IN  GILGXMESH  EPIC 


75 


ina  ha-an-si  u-mi  [ a]t-ta-di  bu-na-sa 
as-kan  hi-sa  10  GARta'a'an  saq-qa-a 
igaratimeS-sa 

10  GARta'a-an  im-ta-hir  ki-bir  muh- 
hi-sa 

60  ad-di  la-an-si  sa-a-si  e-sir-si 

ur-tag-gi-ib-si  a-na  VI-su 
ap-ta-ra-as  [pa-ri-s]u  a-na  VII-su 
qir-bi-is-zu  ap-ta-ra-as  a-na  IX-su 
i?sikkati  me  ina  qabli-sa  lu-[u]  am-has- 
si 

65  a-mur  pa-ri-su  u hi-sih-tum  ad-di 

VI  sar  ku-up-ri  at-ta-bak  a-na  qi-i-ri 

III  sar  iddi  [at-ta-bak]  a-na  lib-bi 

III  sar  sabemeS  na-as  su-us-su-ul-sa 
i-zab-bi-lu  samna 

e-zi-ib  ( e-zu-ub ) sar  samni  sa  i-ku-lu 
ni-iq-qu 

70  II  sar  sam-  [ ni ] u-pa-az-zi-ru  amHmalahu 
a-na  n[isemeS]  ut-tib-bi-ih  alpemeS 


On  the  fifth  day,  I raised  its  form. 

I placed  its  walls  about  its  perimeter  120 
cubits  high. 

120  cubits  was  proportioned  the  length 
of  its  upper  part. 

I laid  its  hull;  I enclosed  it  with  a roof 
( sasi ). 

I covered  it  (i.  e.  made  decks)  six  times. 

I divided  (into  divisions)  seven  times. 

I divided  its  interior  nine  times. 

Water-tanks  in  its  midst  I constructed. 

I inspected  the  compartments,  and  I in- 
stalled the  necessities. 

Three  sars  of  bitumen  I smeared  over  the 
(outside)  wall. 

Three  sars  of  bitumen  I smeared  over  the 
inside. 

Three  sars  of  oil  the  basket  bearers 
brought  in. 

I saved  a sar  of  oil  which  sacrifices  con- 
sumed. 

Two  sars  of  oil  the  shipman  stowed  away. 

For  [the  people]  oxen  were  slaughtered. 


E,  58.  Jensen  read  ina  KAN -HI-S A “nach  dem  plan;  ” Dhorme,  ina  KAN  bt-sa  “Quant  a 
son  enceinte;”  Ungnad,  “Nach  dem  Entwurf  ( ?)  ”;  Rogers  ina  KAN-sa  sa  “in  its  plan.” 
The  sentence  preceding  and  the  eight  that  follow  all  contain  a verbal  form,  which,  with  the 
exception  of  line  59,  are  in  the  first  person  singular.  The  writer  proposes  the  above  reading. 
If  it  is  correct,  as-lcan  may  be  a dialectical  form  of  as-Tcun. 

E,  60.  Jensen  translated  la-an  “ Vordergestadt”,  Dhorme  “contours;”  Ungnad, 
“Vorderbau;  ” and  Rogers,  “hull.”  It  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  word  does  refer  to  the 
hull  or  bottom,  and  that  the  root  is  very  probably  the  Hebrew  “to  lodge,  pass  the  night;  ” 
because  that  is  the  part  of  the  boat  in  which  the  people  lodged. 

E,  66.  The  word  Tci-i-ri  is  translated  by  Jensen  “Innenraum;”  Dhorme  “ 1 ’ interieur;” 
Ungnad  “den  Schmelzofen(  1)  ” and  Rogers  “outside(  ?).”  As  already  noted,  qiru  is  the 
Hebrew  “pp  “wall.” 

E,  68.  Su-us-sw-ul-lu  is  (Jensen  KB  VI  1 p 490)  Amorite;  ef.  nftD'jD  Jer.  6:9.. 

E,  70.  The  root  of  u-pa-az-zi-ru  is  the  common  Hebrew  1^3  ‘ ‘ gather,  gather  in, 
enclose.”  While  the  word  puzru  “concealment,”  and  pazru,  “concealed”  in  Akkadian  may 
be  from  the  same  root,  the  verb  with  the  above  meaning  was  not  in  current  use. 


75 

80 

85 

90 


76 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  ■ RESEARCHES  V-3 


as-gi-is  immereme * u-mi-sam-ma 
si-ri-[su  ku-ru]-un-nu  samnu  u karanu 
um-ma-[na  as-qi]  ki-ma  me  ndri-ma 

i-sin-[na  as-ku-na \ ki-ma  u-mi  a-ki- 
iim-ma 

ap-t[e]  . . . pis-sa-ti  qa-ti  ad-di 

l[a-a]m  dSamas  ra-bi-e  elippu  gam-rat 
. . . . sup-su-qu-ma 

gi-sa(?)  elippa  epusumeS  us-tab-bi-lu 
e-lis  u sap-lis 
. . . . li-ku-si-ni  pat-su 
[■ minima  i-su-u  e\-si-en-si 
mimma  i-su-u  e-si-en-si  kaspu 
mimma  i-[su-u  e]-si-en-si-en-si  hurdsu 
mimma  i-su-[u  e-si-en]-si  zer 
napsatemei  ka-la-ma 
us-te-li  a- [no]  libbi  elippi  ka-la  kim-ti- 
ia  u sa-lat-ia 

bu-ul  seri  u-ma-am  seri  maremei  um- 
ma-a-ni  ka-li-su-nu  u-se-li 

a-dan-na  dSamas  is-ku-nam-ma 
mu-ir  ku-uk-ki  ina  li-la-a-ti  u-sa-az-na- 
an-nu  sa-mu-tu  ki-ba-a-ti 
e-ru-ub  ana  [lib] -hi  elippi-ma  pi-hi 
bdb  (elippa) -ka 
a-dan-nu  su-u  ik-tal-da 
mu-ir  ku-[uk-ki]  ina  li-la-a-ti  i-za-an- 
na-nu  sa-mu-tu  ki-ba-a-ti 
sa  u-mi  at-ta-tal  bu-na-su 
u-mu  a-na  i-tap-lu-si  pu-luh-ta  i-si 
e-ru-ub  a-na  lib-bi  elippi-ma  ap-te-lii 
ba-a-bi 


I slew  sheep  daily. 

Must,  sesame  wine,  oil  and  wine. 

I gave  the  workmen  to  drink  like  water 
from  the  river. 

[I  made  a fe]ast  like  the  Akitu  festival, 
and 

I open[ed  a bos]  of  ointment.  I com- 
pleted my  task  (lit.  laid  down  my 
hand). 

Before  (?)  Shamash,  the  great  ship  was 
finished. 

was  opened  wide,  and 

The  ship  ropes  ( ?)  which  they  made,  they 
installed  above  and  below. 

their were 

With  all  that  I had,  I loaded  it. 

With  all  that  I had  of  silver,  I loaded  it. 

With  all  that  I had  of  gold,  I loaded  it. 

With  all  the  seed  of  life  that  there  was,  I 
loaded  it. 

I caused  to  go  up  into  the  ship  all  my 
family  and  relatives. 

The  cattle  of  the  field,  the  beast  of  the 
plain,  the  craftsmen,  all  of  them,  I 
caused  to  go  up. 

Shamash  fixed  a time  (saying), 

The  muir  kukki  at  even  will  send  a heavy 
rain. 

Enter  the  ship  and  close  the  door. 

That  time  arrived. 

The  muir  kukki  at  even  sent  a heavy  rain. 

Of  the  storm,  I observed  its  appearance. 

To  behold  the  storm,  I dreaded. 

I entered  the  ship,  and  closed  the  door. 


E,  76.  In  all  the  translations  qa-ti  ad-di  is  made  to  refer  to  the  “ointment.”  It  seems 
to  the  writer  that,  it  is  an  expression  meaning,  he  finished  the  task. 

E,  81.  On  e-si-en-si  from  the  Amorite  root  typ  ; see  Chap.  I. 


APPENDIX-— DELUGE  STORY  IN  GILGAMESH  EPIC 


77 


95  a-na  pi-hi-i  sa  elippi  a-na  Bu-zu-ur- 
dAmurru  amHmaldhi 
ekallu  at-ta-[di-i]n  a-di  bu-se-e-su 

mim-mu-u  se-e-ri  ina  na-ma-ri 
i-lam-ma  is-tu  i-sid  samemei  ur-pa-tum 
sa-lim-tum 

dAdad.  ina  lib-bi-sa  ir-tam-ma-am-ma 
100  dNabu  u dSarru  il-la-ku  ina  mah-ri 
il-la-ku  guzalemeS  sadu-u  u ma-a-tum 

tar-kul-li  dUra-gal  i (u)  -na-as-sah 
il-lak  dEn-Urta  mi-ih-ra  u-sar-di 

dA-nun-na-ki  is-su-u  di-pa-ra-a-ti 
105  ina  nam-ri-ir-ri-su-nu  u-ha-am-ma-tu 
ma-a-tum 

sa  dAdad  su-mur-ra-as-[su\  i-ba-’-u 
same(-e) 

[mim]-ma  nam-ru  ana  e-[tu-ti]  ut-tir- 
ru 

....  mdtu  kima  e ....  ih-se(b  [u]  )- 

isten(-en)  u-ma  me-  .... 

110  ha-an-tis  i-zi-qam-ma  ....  mat-a 

ki-ma  qab-li  eli  [nisemeS  u-ba]-,-u  .... 

ul  im-mar  a-hu  a-ha-su 
ul  u-ta-ad-da-a  nisemeS  ina  same(-e) 

ilanimei  ip-la(tal)-hu  a-bu-ba-am-ma 
115  it-te-ih-su  i-te-lu-u  ana  same(-e)  sa 
dA-nim 

%ldnimei  kima  kalbi  kun-nu-nu  ina  ka- 
ma-a-ti  rab-su 
i-ses-si  dIs-tar  ki-ma  a-lit-ti 


To  the  master  of  the  ship,  to  Buzur- 
Amurru,  the  sailor, 

I entrusted  the  great  house,  including  its 
possessions. 

On  the  appearance  of  the  break  of  dawn, 

There  rises  from  the  foundation  of  the 
heavens  a black  cloud. 

Adad  thunders  in  the  midst  of  it. 

Nebo  and  Sharru  go  before. 

They  go  as  messengers  over  mountain 
and  land. 

Urragal  tears  out  the  mast(  ?). 

En-Urta  proceeds ; he  advances  the 
onset. 

The  Anunnaki  raise  the  torches. 

With  their  flashes  they  illuminate  the 
land. 

The  fury  of  Adad  reaches  the  heavens. 

Everything  that  was  bright  turns  [to 
darkness] . 

the  land ; like 

One  day,  the  deluge. 

Quickly  it  overwhelms,  and  [covers]  the 
mountains. 

Like  a war  engine  it  comes  upon  the  peo- 
ple. 

Brother  could  not  see  brother. 

The  people  in  heaven  did  not  recognize 
each  other. 

The  gods  fear  the  deluge. 

They  withdraw,  they  ascend  to  the 
heaven  of  Anu. 

The  gods  cower  like  a dog ; they  lie  down 
in  the  enclosure. 

Ishtar  cries  like  a woman  in  travail. 


E,  95.  The  word  pi-hi-i  is  not  Akkadian,  but  it  is  the  Hebrew  nns;  and  it  seems  that  to 

T V 

regard  the  latter  as  borrowed  from  the  Babylonian  pifyatu  ‘ ‘ district,  ” as  is  generally  done, 
is  a mistake. 


78 


YALE  0K1ENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


u-nam-ba  dbe-lit  i[lani ] ta-bat  rig-ma 

u-mu  ul-lu-u  a-na  ti-it-ti  lu-u  i-tur-ma 
120  as-su  a-na-ku  ina  pu-hur  (ma-har) 
ilanimeS  aq-bu-u  limutta 
ki-i  aq-bi  ina  pu-hur  (ma-har)  ildnimeS 
limutta 

ana  hul-lu-uq  nisemeS-ia  qab-la  aq-bi-ma 

a-na-ku-um-ma  ul-la-da  ni-su-u-a-a-ma 

ki-i  mareme  nunemei  u-ma-al-la-a  tam- 
ta-am-ma 

125  ilanimei  su-ut  dA-nun-na-ki  ba-ku-u  it- 
ti-sa 

ildnimei  as-ru  as -hi  i-na  bi-ki-ti 

kat-ma(sab-ba)  sap-ta-su-nu  [pa-ah- 
ra]-a  pu-uh-ri-e-ti 
VI  ur-ri  u mu-sa-a-ti 

il-lak  sa-a-ru  a-bu-[bu  me\-hu-u  i-sap- 
pan  mdtu 

130  si-bu-u  u-mu  i-na  ka-sa-a-di  it-ta-rak 
( v . rik ) me-liu-u  a-bu-bu  qab-  la 
sa  im-dah-su  ki-ma  ha-ai-al-ti 

i-nu-uh  tdmtu  us-ha-ri-ir-ma  im-hul-lu 
a-bu-bu  ik-lu 

ap-pa-al-sa-am-ma  u-ma(ta-ma-ta)  sa- 
kin  qu-lu 

u kul-lat  te-ni-se-e-ti  i-tu-ra  a-na  ti-it-ti 

135  ki-ma  u-ri  mit-hu-rat  u-sal-lu 

ap-ti  nap-pa-sa-am-ma  urru  im-ta-qut 
eli  dur  ap-pi-ia 

nq-tam-mi-is-ma  at-ta-sab  a-bak-ki 


The  lady  of  the  gods  wails  with  her  beau- 
tiful voice. 

The  former  day  is  verily  turned  to  clay. 

When  I spoke  evil  in  the  assembly  of  the 
gods — 

0,  that  I spoke  evil  in  the  assembly  of 
the  gods, — 

For  the  destruction  of  my  people,  I or- 
dered the  cataclysm. 

I verily  will  bear  (again)  my  people, 
(which) 

Like  a spawn  of  fish  fill  the  sea. 

The  gods  of  Anunnaki  weep  with  her. 

The  gods  are  depressed;  they  sit  weep- 
ing ; 

Their  lips  are  silent ; [they  huddle] 
together. 

Six  days  and  six  nights, 

The  wind  teai’s,  and  the  deluge-tempest 
overwhelms  the  land. 

When  the  seventh  day  arrives,  the  del- 
uge-tempest subsides  in  the  onslaught, 

Which  had  foixght  like  an  army. 

The  sea  rested;  the  hunucane  had  spent 
itself,  the  flood  was  at  an  end. 

I looked  upon  the  sea;  the  voice  was 
silent. 

And  all  mankind  was  turned  to  clay. 

Like  a log  they  floated  about. 

I opened  the  hatch,  and  the  light  fell 
upon  my  countenance. 

I was  hoi’rified,  and  I sat  down  and  wept. 


E,  131.  As  already  mentioned,  Jja-aja-al-ti  is  Hebrew;  see  Jensen  KB  VI  1 p.  498. 

E,  133.  In  the  duplicate  text  ta-ma-ta  takes  the  place  of  u-mu,  showing  that  the  latter 
should  not  be  translated  “day,”  as  is  done  by  all  translators,  but  “sea”  (=  Q'). 

T 


APPENDIX— DELUGE  STOEY  IN  GILGAMESH  EPIC 


79 


eli  dur  ap-pi-ia  il-la-ka  di-ma-a-a 
ap-pa-li-is  kib-ra-a-ti  hat-tu  tamti 

140  a-na  Xllta  a an  i-te-la-a  na-gu-u 
a-na  SadNi-sir  i-te-mid  i?elippu 
sadu(-u)  SadNi-sir  elippa  is-bat-ma  a-na 
na-a-si  id  id-din 

isten(-en)  u-ma  sana-a  u-ma  sadu(-u) 
Ni-sir  Ki-Min 

sal-sa  u-ma  ri-ba-a  u-ma  sadu(-u)  Ni- 
sir  Ki-Min 

145  han-su  sis-sa  sadu(-u)  Ni-sir  Ki-Min 

siba-a  u-ma  i-na  ka-sa-a-di 
u-se-si-ma  summatai™ur  u-mas-sir 
il-lik  summatui/l!Sur  i-tu-ra-am-ma 
man-za-zu  ul  i-pa-as-sum (sim) -ma  is- 
sah-ra 

150  u-se-si-ma  sinunduimir  u-mas-sir 
il-lik  sinunduilfl>ur  i-tu-ra-am-ma 
man-za-zu  ul  i-pa-as-sum-ma  is-sali-ra 

u-se-si-ma  a-ri-ba  u-mas-sir 
il-lik  a-ri-bi-ma  qa-ru-ra  sa  me  i-mur — 
ma 

155  ik-kal  i-sa-ah-hi  i-tar-ri  id  is-sah-ra 

u-se-si-ma  a-na  IV  sdre  at-ta-qi  ni-qa-a 

as-kun  sur-qi-nu  ina  eli  ziq-qur-rat 
sadi(-i) 

VII  u VII  kart’ata-da-guru  uk-tin 


Over  my  countenance  ran  my  tears. 

I looked  in  all  directions;  the  sea  was 
terrible. 

On  the  twelfth  day,  an  island  arose. 

Upon  Mount  Nisir,  the  ship  grounded. 

Mount  Nisir  held  the  ship  that  it  moved 
not. 

One  day,  a second  day,  Mount  Nisir  held 
it,  that  it  moved  not. 

A third  day,  a fourth  day  Mount  Nisir 
held  it,  that  it  moved  not. 

A fifth  day,  a sixth  day  Mount  Nisir  held 
it,  that  it  moved  not. 

When  the  seventh  day  arrived, 

I brought  out  and  released  a dove. 

The  dove  went  forth ; it  turned ; 

It  did  not  have  a resting  place;  it  re- 
turned. 

I brought  out  and  released  a swallow. 

The  swallow  went  forth ; it  turned ; 

It  did  not  have  a resting  place;  it  re- 
turned. 

I brought  out  and  released  a raven. 

The  raven  went  forth ; it  saw  the  drying 
up  of  the  water; 

It  approached ; it  waded ; it  croaked  ( ? ) ; 
it  did  not  return. 

I sent  (everything)  to  the  four  winds.  I 
offered  a sacrifice. 

I made  a libation  upon  the  summit  of  the 
mountain. 

Seven  and  seven  adagur  pots  I set  out. 


E,  137.  Jensen  translates  “kniete  neider;”  Dhorme,  “Je  m’affalai;”  Ungnad,  “Ich 
kniete  hin ; ’ ’ Eogers  ‘ ‘ I bowed.  ’ ’ It  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  root  of  uq-ta-am-mi-is  may 
possibly  be  the  Hebrew  flD  to  feel  a loathing,  abhorrence;  ” cf.  line  126. 

E,  142.  Poebel  (ibid.  p.  55)  has  already  pointed  out  that  the  root  of  na-a-si  is  not  nasu  “to 
sway,  quake,  tremble.  ’ ’ As  it  is  a synonym  of  alaku  2 E 35 : 50  e f , it  seems  to  the  writer  that 
the  root  is  the  Hebrew  DU  “ to  escape,”  ef.  Is.  59:19.  Professor  Torrey  has  kindly  called  my 
attention  to  the  hap  el  of  this  verb  meaning  “remove”  in  the  two  old  Aramaic  inscriptions, 
namely  the  Zakir  11:20,  and  the  Nerab  Inscription  1:6,  and  11:8,  9;  see  JAOS  35,  363;  and 
AJSL  33,  54  f. 


80 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


i-na  sap-li-su-nu  at-ta-bak  qana  ilferina 
u dsa 

160  ildnimei  i-si-nu  i-ri-sa 

ilanimeS  i-si-nu  e{i)-ri-sa  ta-[a-ba] 
ildnimeS  ki-ma  zu-um-be-e  eli  bel  niqe 
ip-tah-ru 

ul-tu  ul-la-nu-um-ma  dbelit  ildni  ina 
ka-sa-di-su 

is-si  NIMmeS  rabutemeS  sa  dA-nu-um 
i-pu-su  ki-i  su-hi-su 

165  ildnimeS  an-nu-ti  lu-u  abnusibri-ia  ai 
am-si 

umemeS  an-nu-ti  lu-u  ah-su-sa-am-ma 
ana  da-ris  ai  am-si 
ilanimeS  lil-li-ku-ni  a-na  sur-qi-ni 
dEn-lil  ai  il-li-ka  a-na  sur-qi-ni 
as-su  la  im-tal-ku-ma  is-ku-nu  a-bu-bu 

170  u nisemeS-ia  im-nu-u  a-na  ka-ra-si 

ul-tu  ul-la-nu-um-ma  dEn-lil  ina  ka-sa- 
di-su 

i-mur  elippa-ma  i-te-ziz  dEn-lil 
lib-ba-ti  im-ta-li  sa  ilanimeS  dIgigi 

ai-um-ma  u-si  na-pis-ti 
175  ai  ib-lut  amelu  ina  ka-ra-si 

dEnurta  pa-a-su  epus-ma  iqabbi 
izakkar(-ar)  ana  qu-ra-di  dEn-lil 
man-nu-um-ma  sa  la  dE-a  a-ma-ti  i- 
ban-  [nu] 

u dE-a  i-di-e-ma  ka-la  sip-ri 
180  dE -a  pa-a-su  epus-ma  iqabbi 

izakkar(-ar)  ana  qu-ra-di  dEn-lil 
at-ta  abkal  ilanimeS  qu-ra-du 

ki-i  ki-i  la  tam-ta-lik-ma  a-bu-ba  tas- 
kun 

be-el  hi-ti  ( ar-ni ) e-mid  hi-ta-a-su 
185  be-el  hab-la-ti  e-mid  hab-lat-su 


Beneath  them  I piled  reeds,  cedar  wood 
and  myrtle. 

The  gods  smelled  the  savor. 

The  gods  smelled  the  sweet  savor. 

The  gods  like  flies  gathered  about  the 
sacrificer. 

When  finally  the  lady  of  the  gods  ar- 
rived. 

She  raised  the  great  jewel (?),  which 
Ann  had  made  according  to  her  wish. 

Ye  gods  here,  I shall  not  forget  my  neck- 
lace. 

Upon  these  days  I shall  think,  so  that 
forever  I will  not  forget. 

Let  the  gods  come  to  the  offering. 

Enlil  shall  not  come  to  the  offering ; 

Because  he  took  not  counsel ; and  sent  the 
deluge ; 

And  my  people  lie  numbered  for  destruc- 
tion. 

When  at  last  Enlil  arrived, 

He  saw  the  ship ; then  Enlil  was  wroth; 

He  was  filled  with  anger  against  the 
Igigi  gods. 

Has  anyone  come  out  alive? 

No  man  shall  survive  the  cataclysm. 

En-Urta  opened  his  mouth,  and  spake, 

He  said  to  the  warrior  Enlil ; 

Who  without  Ea  shall  devise  the  com- 
mand ? 

And  Ea  knows  every  matter. 

Ea  opened  his  mouth  and  spoke, 

He  said  to  the  warrior  Enlil : 

Thou  wise  one  (?)  of  the  gods,  0 war- 
rior, 

Why,  0 why  hast  thou  not  taken  counsel ; 
and  hast  sent  a flood? 

On  the  sinner  place  his  sin ; 

On  the  evil  doer  place  his  crimes ; 


APPENDIX— BABYLONIAN  FRAGMENT 


81 


ru-um-me  ai  ib-ba-ti-iq  su-du-ud  ai  . . . 

am-ma-ki  tas-ku-nu  a-bu-ba 
nesu  lit-ba-am-ma  nisemeS  li-sa-ah-hi- 
[ir] 

am-ma-ki  tas-ku-nu  a-bu-ba 
190  barbaru  lit-ba-am-ma  nisemei  li-sa- 
a[h-hi-ir\ 

am-ma-ki  tas-ku-nu  a-bu-ba 
hu-sah-hu  lis-sa-kin-ma  matu  lis-[gis] 
am-ma-ki  tas-ku-nu  a-bu-ba 
dUr-ra  lit-ba-am-ma  matu(nisemeS)  lis- 
gis 

195  a-na-ku  id  ap-ta-a  pi-ris-ti  ilanimeS 
rabutemeS 

At-ra-ha-sis  su-na-ta  u-sab-ri-sum-ma 
pi-ris-ti  ildnimeS  is-me 
e-nin-na-ma  mi-lik-su  mil-ku 
i-lam-ma  dEa  a-na  lib-bi  elippi 
is-bat  qa-ti-ia-ma  ul-te-la-an-ni-ia-a-si 
200  us-te-li  us-ta-ak-mi-is  sin-nis-ti  ina 
i-di-ia 

il-pu-ut  pu-ut-ni-ma  iz-za-az  ina  bi-ri- 
in-ni  i-kar-ra-ban-na-si 
i-na  pa-ni  Um-napistim  a-me-lu-tum-ma 
e-nin-na-ma  tlm-napistim  u sinnisti-su 
lu-u  e-mu-u  ki-i(ma)  ilanimeS  na- 
si-ma 

lu-u  a-sib-ma  Um-napistim  ina  ru-u-qi 
ina  pi-i  naratimeS 

205  il-qu-in-ni-ma  ina  ru-qi  ina  pi-i 
naratimeS  us-te-si-bu-in-ni 


That  charity  (?)  be  not  cut  off ; that  pun- 
ishment be  not  .... 

Instead  of  thy  sending  a deluge, 

Let  a lion  come  and  diminish  the  people. 

Instead  of  thy  sending  a deluge, 

Let  a wolf  come  and  diminish  the  peo- 
ple. 

Instead  of  thy  sending  a deluge, 

Let  there  be  a famine  and  ruin  the  land. 

Instead  of  thy  sending  a deluge, 

Let  Urra  come  and  destroy  the  people. 

I have  not  revealed  the  decision  of  the 
great  gods. 

I caused  Atra-hasis  to  see  a dream,  and 
he  heard  the  decision  of  the  gods. 

Now  take  counsel  concerning  him. 

Ea  went  up  into  the  ship. 

He  took  my  hand,  and  brought  me  up. 

My  wife  he  brought  up,  (and)  caused  to 
kneel  beside  me. 

He  turned  our  faces  and  he  stood  be- 
tween us ; he  blessed  us. 

Formerly  tJm-napishtim  was  a man,  and 

now  Um-napishtim  and  his  wife  are 
associates ; they  are  elevated  like  gods. 

Verily  Um-napishtim  shall  dwell  afar  off 
at  the  mouth  of  the  rivers. 

He  took  me,  and  caused  me  to  dwell  afar 
off  at  the  mouth  of  the  rivers. 


F.  A FRAGMENT  OF  DELUGE  STORY  IN  BABYLONIAN.6 

sa{?)  sa(?) -ka  

a-pa-as-sar-[ma ] I will  loosen; 

ka-la  ni-si  is-te-nis  i-za-bat  wrill  take  all  the  people  together. 

* Published  by  Hilprecht  BE  Ser.  D Y 1 33f.  It  was  also  translated  by  Rogers  Cuneiform 
Parallels  108f;  and  by  Jastrow  Eeb.  and  Bab.  Trad.  343f. 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


-ti  la-am  a-bu-bu  wa-si-e 

5 ....  -a-ni  ma-la  i-ba-as-su-u  lu-kin 
ub-bu-ku  lu  pu-ut-tu  hu-ru-su 

,?elippa  ra-be-tam  bi-ni-ma 

ga-be-e  gab-bi  lu  bi-nu-uz-za 

si-i  lu  '* magurgurrum  ma-sum- 

sa  lu-na-si-rat  na-pis-tim 

....  ri{?)  zu-lu-la  dan-na  zu-ul-lil 
10  ....  te-ip-pu-su 

....  u-ma-am  si-rim  is-sur  sa-me-e 

....  ku-um  mi-ni 
. ...  u qi[n]-ta  


....  before  the  deluge  comes ; 

....  as  many  as  there  are  I will  bring 
destruction.  Verily  observe  silence. 
....  build  a great  ship ; and 
....  the  total  height,  shall  be  its  struc- 
ture. 

....  It  (she)  shall  be  a magurgurrum 
(giant  boat)  ; and  her  name  shall  be 
‘the  reserver  of  life.’ 

....  protect  with  a great  cover. 

....  which  thou  shalt  make. 

....  beast  of  the  field,  fowl  of  the 
heaven. 

....  for  a number  (or  of  a kind). 
and  family 


G.  BEROSSUS’  VERSION  OF  THE  ATRA-HASIS  EPIC.7 

After  the  death  of  Ardatos,  his  son  Xisouthros  reigned  for  eighteen  sars ; in 
his  reign  a great  deluge  took  place,  and  the  story  has  been  recorded  as  follows. 

Kronos  appeared  to  him  in  his  sleep  and  said  that  on  the  fifteenth  of  the  month 
Daisios  men  would  be  destroyed  by  a deluge.  He  bade  him  therefore,  setting 
down  in  writing  the  beginning,  middle,  and  end  of  all  things,  to  bury  them  in 
Sippara,  the  city  of  the  Sun ; to  build  a boat,  and  go  aboard  it  with  his  family 
and  close  friends ; to  stow  in  it  food  and  drink,  to  put  in  it  also  living  creatures, 
winged  and  four-footed,  and  when  all  his  preparations  were  complete,  to  set  sail ; 
when  asked  where  he  was  sailing,  to  say,  “To  the  gods,  in  order  to  pray  that  men 
may  have  blessings.  ”s  He  did  not  disobey,  but  built  the9  boat,  five10  furlongs 

F,  5.  The  root  of  lju-ru-su  seems  to  be  the  Hebrew  tsnn  “ to  be  silent,  speechless.  ’ ’ 

F,  7.  It  has  been  shown  that  is  the  root  of  ga-be-e  (see  Hilprecht,  BE  Ser.  D V 

p.  51). 

F,  8.  Poebel  anticipated  the  writer  in  the  rejection  of  the  reading  ba-bil  (see  Historical 
Texts  p.  61)  ; however,  the  ma  which  follows  is  not  an  emphatic  particle,  but  the  Hebrew 

w aw  conjunctive. 

F,  9.  Rogers  correctly  translated;  “with  a strong  roof  cover  it.” 

7 The  text  followed  is  that  of  A.  Schoene  Eusebi  Chronicorum  Libri  Duo  Vol.  I pp. 
20-24,  except  where  differences  are  noted.  The  translation  and  notes  here  presented  are  by 
my  colleague,  Prof.  A.  M.  Harmon  of  Yale  University. 

8 Through  ambiguity  caused  by  indirect  discourse,  the  Greek  might  almost  equally  well  mean : 
“When  asked  (by  Xisouthros)  where  he  was  to  sail,  he  (Kronos)  said”  etc.  It  was  so  taken 
by  the  author  of  the  Armenian  version. 

9 vavmjyijsai  to  A.  M.  H.,  vavwriyqoavTa  Ms,  vavmriyqaaadai  Gutschmid. 

10  Gutschmid  and  Schoene  follow  the  Armenian  version,  ‘ ‘ fifteen.  ’ ’ 


APPENDIX— BEEOSSUS  ’ VERSION 


83 


in  length  and  two  furlongs  in  width,  assembled  and  stowed  everything  in  accord- 
ance with  the  directions,  and  embarked  his  wife  and  children  and  his  close 
friends. 

After  the  deluge  had  begun  and  had  quickly  ceased,  Xisouthros  let  some  of 
the  birds  go ; but  as  they  found  no  food  nor  place  to  alight,  they  came  back  into 
the  boat.  Again  after  some  days  Xisouthros  let  the  birds  go,  and  they  came  back 
to  the  boat  with  their  feet  muddy.  But  when  they  were  let  go  for  the  third 
time,  they  did  not  come  back  to  the  boat  again.  Xisouthros  concluded  that  land 
had  appeared;  unstopping  some  part  of  the  boat’s  seams  and  perceiving  that 
the  boat  had  grounded  upon  a mountain,  he  disembarked  with  his  wife,  his 
daughter,  and  the  helmsman ; and  after  he  had  done  homage  to  the  earth,  built 
an  altar,  and  sacrificed  to  the  gods,  disappeared  with  all  those  who  had  dis- 
embarked from  the  boat.  Those  who  had  remained  in  the  boat  disembarked 
when  Xisouthros  and  his  companions  failed  to  come  in,  and  looked  for  him, 
calling  him  by  name.  Xisouthros  himself  they  never  saw  again,  but  a voice  came 
from  the  air,  telling  them  that  they  must  be  pious,  for  because  of  his  piety  he 
was  gone  to  live  with  the  gods ; and  that  his  wife,  his  daughter,  and  the  helms- 
man had  received  a share  in  the  same  honor.  He  told  them,  too,  that  they  would 
go  back  to  Babylonia,  and  that  it  was  fated  for  them  to  recover  the  writings  at 
Sippara  and  publish  them  to  men;  also  that  the  country  where  they  were 
belonged  to  Armenia.  On  hearing  this,  they  sacrificed  to  the  gods  and  went  by 
a roundabout  way11  to  Babylonia.  But  of  this  boat  that  grounded  in  Armenia 
some  part  still  remains  there,  in  the  mountains  of  the  Kordyaioi  in  Armenia, 
and  people  get  pitch  from  the  boat  by  scraping  it  off,  and  use  it  for  amulets. 

They  went,  then,  to  Babylonia,  dug  up  the  writings  at  Sippara,  founded  many 
cities,  built  temples,  and  so  repopulated  Babylonia. 


11  7re'pt|  Ms,  7ref?j  Schoene. 


84 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  • RESEARCHES  V-3 


DYNASTIC  LISTS  OF  EARLY  BABYLONIA.12 


I Kish  Kingdom 

I Ur  Kingdom 

4 

....  -um-e 

1 Mesh-anni-pada 

80  yrs. 

5 

....  -an-  .... 

2 Mesh-kiag-nunna,  s. 

30  “ 

6 

....  -vu-um 

3 Elulu 

25  “ 

7 

[Uph-]  ba(?) 

4 Balulu 

36  “ 

8 

....  tabba 

9 

Kalumum 

900  yrs. 

4 kings 

171  “ 

10 

Zugagib 

840  “ 

A wan  Kingdom 

11 

Arwu,  s.  of  a mushkenu  720  “ 

3 kings 

356  yrs. 

12 

Etana,  the  Shepherd 

625  “ 

11  Kish  Kingdom 

13 

Baliqam,  s. 

410  “ 

Mesilim 

14 

En-men-nun-na 

611  “ 

Al-zu  ( ? ) 

15 

Melam-Kish 

900  “ 

Ur-sag-e 

16 

Bar-sal-nnn-na,  s. 

1,200  “ 

4 ( ? ) kings 

3,792  yrs. 

17 

Mes-za-mug(  ?),  s. 

Hamazi  Kingdom 

18 

En-gis(  ?)-gu(  ?),  s.  of 

1 ...  -ni-ish 

7 years 

No.  16 

I Adab  Kingdom 

19 

En-me-dur-mes-e  ( ? ) 

Lugal-dalu 

20 

....  -za 

Me-igi-. . . 

21 

En-me-bara-gi-su  ( ?) 

2(  ?)  kings 

22 

900  “ 

11  Ur  Kingdom 

23 

Ag(  ?),  s.  of  En(?) 

625  “ 

Ann  an  i 

Lu-Nannar,  s. 

23  kings 

18,000  + x 

4(  ?)  kings 

108  yrs. 

Eanna 

or  I Urnk  Kingdom 

II  Adab  Kingdom 

1 

Mesli-kin-gasher,  s.  of 

Lu  gal-anni-mundu 

Shamash 

325  yrs. 

1 king 

90  yrs. 

2 

En-mer-kar,  s. 

420  “ 

Mari  Kingdom 

3 

Lugal  Marda,  the 

Ansir 

30  “ 

Shepherd 

1,200  “ 

4 

Tammuz,  the  Hunter 

100  “ 

• • * "SA 

5 

Gilgamesh,  s.  of  High- 

I-  [sli]  ar-Shamash 

priest  of  Kullab 

126  “ 

6 

...-lugal,  s. 

30-f-  yrs. 

3 ( ? ) kings 

11(?)  kings  (about 

I(?)  Akshak  Kingdom 

5 missing) 

2,171  + x 

1 Zuzu 

u The  dynastic  lists  published  by  the  -writer  in  JAOS  41  244ff.  are  here  reproduced  with 
some  modifications  and  additions  based  on  a few  additional  finds  published  by  Legrain  Histori- 
cal Fragments  lOff. 


APPENDIX— DYNASTIC  LISTS 


85 


III  Kish  Kingdom 
1 Eannatum 
Lugal-tarsi 
3 Enbi-Ashtar 

3 ( ? ) kings 

II  Uruk  Kingdom 

Enshagkushanna 


Akkad  Kingdom 

1 Sharru-kin 

2 Uru-mush,  s. 

3 Manishtusu,  s. 

4 Naram-Sin,  s. 

5 Shargali-sharri,  s. 

6 Manum  sarru  man- 


55  years  2847  ? 


15  “ 
7 “ 
56  “ 
25  “ 


2792? 

2777? 

2770? 

2714? 


urn  la  sarru 


Lugal-kigub-nidudu 

7 

Igigi 

Lugal-kisalsi 

8 

Imi 

3(?)  kings 

9 

Nanum 

3 

“ 2689? 

II(?)  Akshak  Kingdom13 

10 

Ilulu 

1 Un-zi 

30  years  3077  ? 

11 

Dudu 

21 

“ 2686? 

2 Un-da-lu-lu 

12 

“ 3047? 

12 

Su-qar-kib,  s. 

15 

“ 2665? 

3 Ur-sag 

6 

“ 3035? 

4 BA-SA-Sahan 

20 

“ 3029? 

12  kings 

197  years 

5 Ishu-il 

34 

“ 3009? 

IV  Uruk  Kingdom 

6 Gimil-Sin,  s. 

7 

“ 2985? 

1 

Ur-nigin 

3 years  2650? 

2 

Ur-gigir,  s. 

6 

“ 2647? 

6 kings 

99  years 

3 

Kudda 

6 

“ 2641? 

4 

BA-§A-ili 

5 

“ 2635? 

IV  Kish  Kingdom 

5 

Ur-Shamash 

6 

“ 2630? 

1 Azag-Bau  or  Bau- 

ellit 

14  years  2978? 

5 kings 

26  years 

2 BA-SA-Sin,  s. 

25 

“ 2964? 

Gutium  Kingdom 

3 Ur-dZababa 

6 

“ 2939? 

1 

Imbia 

5 years  2624? 

4 Zimutar 

30 

“ 2933? 

2 

Ingishu 

7 

“ 2619? 

5 Uzi-watar,  s. 

6 

“ 2903? 

3 

Warlagaba 

6 

“ 2612? 

6 El-muti 

11 

“ 2897? 

4 

Iarlagarum 

3? 

“ 2606? 

7 Imu-Shamash 

11 

“ 2886? 

8 

[ ] -gub 

8 Nania,  the  Jeweler 

3 

“ 2875? 

9 

[ ]-ti 

10 

[ ] -an-gub 

8 kings 

106  years 

11 

i 1-bi 

III  Uruk  Kingdom 

Arlagan 

1 Lugal-zaggisi, 

E-ir-ri-du-pi-zi-ir 

s.  of  Ukush 

25  years  2872  ? 

Sarlak 

13  The  dates  from  Utu-hegal  backward  are  uncertain,  because  the  25  years  assigned  that 
ruler  are  conjectural  and  also  because  it  is  not  known  whether  any  other  kings  intervened 
between  his  time  and  the  reign  of  Ur-Engur  of  Ur.  The  date  2193  B.  C.,  usually  accepted  for 
the  beginning  of  Hammurabi’s  reign,  is  used  as  a starting  point. 


86 


YALE  ORIENTAL  SERIES  ■ RESEARCHES  V-3 


Las-si-ra-ab 
Si-u-um 
21  Tirigan 


21  kings 

V Uruk  Kingdom 
1 Utu-hegal 


125  years 


25?  years  2499? 


Ill  Ur  Kingdom 

1 Ur-Engur 

2 Dungi,  s. 

3 Amar-Sin,  s. 

4 Gimil-Sin,  s. 

5 Ibi-Sin,  s. 

5 kings 


18  years  2474 

58  “ 2456 

9 “ 2398 

7 “ 2389 

25  “ 2382 


117  years 


Nisin  Kingdom 
B.C.  years 

2357  Ishbi-Urra  32 

2325  Gimil-ilishu,  s.  10 

2315  Idin-Dagan,  s.  21 

2294  Ishme-Dagan,  s.  20 

2274  Libit-Islitar  11 

2263  Ur-Enurta  28 

2235  Bur-Sin,  s.  21 

2214  Iter-pisha,  s.  5 

2209  Urra-imitti  7 

2202  Sin  ( ? ) - V2 

2201  Ellil-bani  24 

2177  Zambia  3 

2174  ....  5 

2169  Ea....  4 

2165  Sin-magir  11 

2154  Damiq-ilishu,  s.  23 


Years  22  S1/-? 


Larsa  Kingdom 


Naplanum 

years 

25 

Emisu 

28 

Samum 

35 

Zabaia 

9 

Gungunu 

27 

Abi-sare 

11 

Sumu-ilu 

29 

Nur-Immer 

16 

Sin-idinnain 

7? 

Sin-iribam 

2 

Sin-iqisham 

6 

Sili-Immer 

1 

Warad-Sin 

12 

Rim-Sin 

61 

Hammurabi 

12 

Babylon  Kingdom 

years  B.C. 


Sumu-abum 

14 

2225 

Sumu-la-ilum 

36 

2211 

Zabium 

14 

2175 

Abil-Sin 

18 

2161 

Sin-muballit 

20 

2143 

Hammurabi 

43 

2123 

THE  SITE  OF  NISIN 

The  site  of  Nisin,  which  has  previously  been  sought  for  in  vain,  is  very  proba- 
bly at  last  located.  A little  over  two  years  ago  cones  of  Libit-Ishtar  were 
brought  to  Baghdad  and  offered  to  the  writer  for  purchase.  It  seemed  that  the 
provenance  of  these  cones  would  determine  the  site  of  the  city.  Recently  Captain 
Bertram  S.  Thomas  kindly  informed  the  writer,  in  a letter  dated  March  22d, 
that  Col.  Kenlys  L.  Stevenson  had  found  a cone  at  Bahriyat,  about  seventeen 
miles  south  of  Nippur.  The  mounds  are  simply  a series  of  the  usual  “mud  pie 
variety,”  as  the  English  officers  describe  them.  Bahriyat,  it  would  seem,  is 
the  sought-for  site. 


Plate  i 


COL. 


EARLY  VERSION  OF  THE  ATRA-HASIS  EPIC 
A HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY  IN  CUNEIFORM  (OBVERSE) 


Plate  ii 


A HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY  IN  CUNEIFORM  (Reverse) 


Plate  iii 


col.  i 


COL  II 


COL.  VI 


COL.  V 


ANCIENT  VERSION  OF  THE  ETANA  LEGEND 


Plate  iv 


THE  ADAPA  LEGEND  (OBVERSE) 


Plate  V 


A HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY  IN  CUNEIFORM  (Obverse) 

(SIZE  OF  ORIGINAL) 


Plate  VI 


A HEBREW  DELUGE  STORY  IN  CUNEIFORM  (REVERSE) 
THE  ADAPA  LEGEND  (Reverse  is  Destroyed) 

(SIZE  OF  ORIGINALS) 


Plate  Vll 


ANCIENT  VERSION  OF  THE  ETANA  LEGEND 
(SIZE  OF  ORIGINAL) 


GETTY  RESEARCH  INSTITUTE 


3 3125  01538  6580 


Thft  LOCUST 
BOOK  ShOP 


